Vampire Academy meets, me?
by ShadowKissed-Deni
Summary: What would you do if Rose Hathaway suddenly came into your life, bringing your whole world upside down, with lies being unveiled and surprises around every corner? Who knows what could happen? My own spin off of VA by Richelle Mead after Shadow Kiss. :
1. Meet me

**I hope I'm not breaking any rules or anything...**

**This was just a random idea that popped in my head that i thought would be fun to write.**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

My alarm rang. Great. I had to begin school today. It was Monday. The start of the week. Well duh.

I groaned as I reached for my phone which was my alarm. Burnin' up by the Jonas Brothers was playing. Embarrassing I know, but hey, it's a good song. I picked up my phone and pressed the 'ok' button turning the alarm off. I put it back down on the table next to me.

I fell back into the bed, reluctant to get out. It was freezing without the blankets. It was Winter right now. I hated Winter and I wished it were Summer. But then when it was Summer, I wished it was Winter. Hey. Doesn't everyone think that?

'Whatever. 5 more minutes.' I thought to my self cheekily. I fell asleep again.

All of a sudden, my Dad barged in through the door telling me to wake up. He awakened me from my forbidden slumber. Argh.

I finally got up and looked at the clock.

"What! It's 7:45 already!" I screamed. I was about to miss my bus. I had only 7 minutes. My Dad left the room. I closed the door and threw off my PJs. I got out my school uniform and whipped it on. Then I stuffed my phone and other valuables into my pocket. I looked back at the clock.

"What? Only 5 minutes left?" I shouted. Gosh, I hated being tardy. I quickly grabbed my hair tie and tied my hair up into a low ponytail.

I ran downstairs holding onto the handrail tightly. I was so scared of falling down, which I already had, many times. I ran to the kitchen and fetched an 'Up & Go'. It was the only thing that was quick and would make me full for the time being.

I drank the 'Up & Go' in record time and looked at a clock in the kitchen.

"Crap! 2 minutes left!" I collected all my books for the day and stuffed them in my bag. Then I realised that I didn't have any lunch. I groaned and ran back up the stairs. I went into my parent's room and collected the change I needed for a lunch order. They deliberately put change on a table for me, so it wasn't like I was stealing or anything.

I ran down the stairs again and picked up my school bag. I put on my shoes and I was ready to go.

My Dad drove me to the bus stop. There, I saw my friend waiting for me. Judy. She was a very cute character; she brought the child out of me. She was one of my first few friends in high school. Oh ya, I forgot to mention something.

Hi. The name's Denise and I'm 13 years old. I am the most random person you will ever meet, hopefully. I'm in Year 8 and I attend a selective school, though I don't believe I'm that smart, I probably got in by luck.

Judy saw me get out of the car in front of her and grinned.

"Hi Denise." She said in a friendly way.

"Hi Judy." I said back in the same way.

"So, anything interesting happening to you recently?" I couldn't believe she forgot. I was slightly annoyed.

"Well, nothing much, except for looking after Adam."

"Oh ya! Woops. Sorry I forgot." She looked at me apologetically. I laughed. I had a new brother. Adam was so adorable.

"Nah, don't worry." I said. She laughed back.

I looked around the bus stop. Boys were filling up the bench. Judy and I went to an all girl's school, so these boys were from our brother school. Not one of them was cute. I was so relieved.

The bus arrived after a few minutes. I was glad that the bus was late sometimes, but not too late. I looked at Judy's watch. Good. We'd just make it in time for school.

I opened my pocket and digged around for my bus pass. Oh crap. I left it at home.

I nervously boarded the bus.

"Where's your bus pass?" The bus driver looked at me expectantly.

"I accidentally left it at home. Sorry." I was so nervous and embarrassed.

"Ok. Remember it next time or you'll have to _pay_." I shivered at the word 'pay'. Pay, how? Was he going to beat me up? I was overreacting. Of course he meant by money.

I walked down the aisle and all the seats were taken with only one seat next to a guy left. Crap, this was going to be awkward. But it was just like primary school, right? Judy had already gotten a seat before me, she looked at me sympathetically. I gave her a smile.

"Can I please sit here?" I asked the boy. He had brown hair and looked like he was in Year 9. He was quite tall.

"Sure." He gave me a grin. Damn. Was I attracted to him? I hoped not, or else I wouldn't be able to survive.

I hoped he wasn't going to talk to me either. If he did, I'd probably stutter. I was never good with talking to cute guys. I'd just end up blurting out something that had a hint of smartass attitude.

I looked at him. He was staring out the window; I hoped he wouldn't notice me. He was actually kinda cute. Crap, I was in a tight spot. What was I going to do?

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that the bus had stopped.

"Excuse me; I need to get off here." He said politely. I stood up and walked to one side of the narrow aisle. He stood up and was about to walk up the aisle when suddenly…

The bus started and then stopped. The guy stumbled over in front of me and almost fell on top of me. Luckily, he caught hold of the seats behind him. His face was about 2 inches away from mine.

I was frozen.

'What do I do? What do I do?' Kept running through my brain like an athlete on steroids.

My heart was racing and I felt like screaming and running away. It was an odd thing to do, since I wasn't that girly. It's like the world stopped spinning and it was just the two of us. He was looking into my eyes and I was looking into his. He had gorgeous sky blue ones that sparkled when the sun hit them, while my eyes didn't really have anything special about them except the fact that they were brown.

He smiled. I was too embarrassed, so I just looked away, breaking the gaze between us. As he walked up the aisle he whispered into my ear.

"Sorry… and by the way. My name's Matt."

Matt. What a cool name. I smiled and noticed that Judy was sitting by herself now. I felt that I was blushing. My cheeks were burning. I hadn't blushed like that in ages.

I sat next to Judy, still shocked and embarrassed about what just happened. I let out a huge sigh. I felt like I got hit by Cupid's arrow… I was just so relaxed. I didn't care if anyone saw what had happened. Judy looked at me weirdly.

"Hmmm? What's wrong?" She asked me, face full of concern.

"Nothing Judy, everything is… perfect…" I probably looked like a doofus. A doofus who might have just developed a crush, a crush on a boy in the bus. Oh crud…

Luckily he wasn't from the brother school. The guys from the brother school, were… all gangster wannabes or wannabe cool guys or just… wannabe guys. I giggled to myself at that thought. Judy looked at me weirdly, but then shrugged it off.

We finally arrived at school. It was raining. Ugh. I quickly got out my umbrella from my bag and ran off to my first period. Judy and I parted separate ways. I had Drama. Yes!

I got to Drama in the nick of time! I then caught up with my friends Bonnie, Lisa, Elizabeth, Erin and Renae. We had to rehearse a little play we had to do for our assessment. I was still thinking about him. Matt. Thinking about Matt. I sighed.

"Denise! What are you doing?" Lisa shouted at me, breaking me out of my daydream. Lisa was the confident and funny one in our group; she and I had many coincidences. It's what made us the best of friends.

"What?!? Oh… sorry guys!" I quickly got into position and focused on the scene. It was so hard not to think about _him. _

My friends looked at me expectantly, it was my turn. Damn, I forgot my lines.

"Denise do you remember your lines? We've been doing this for 3 weeks now." Bonnie said to me, but in a calm tone. She was always nice. Bonnie was also one of the first friends that I had. We met randomly in a Geography class and were besties since.

"Uh… To be, or not to be, that is the question." I said jokingly. No-one laughed or was even amused just a little bit. A frown appeared on my face.

"Sorry guys." I was disappointed in myself. I was getting distracted, by a boy.

"What's wrong?" Renae asked me. She was the responsible one. She was the perfect girl! I don't mean that in a gross way, but seriously, she's perfect. I always envied her. She was smart, responsible, kind, caring, pretty and so many other things! I wondered how she did it.

"N-Nothing" I stuttered. The others gathered round and looked at me with concern on all of their faces.

"You shouldn't be sad Denise! You have a new brother now!" Elizabeth said. She was the EXTRA smart one. She was so cute. She was like the little sister that I never had.

"No guys. I'm not sad… I just have my mind on something… else." I averted their eyes.

"Come on, tell us." Erin said to me, looking into my eyes. She was the cool one. She was also an amazing singer, but she never admitted it. She was better than me.

"Umm…. Fine." I sighed. I told them about what happened in the bus. They all cracked up laughing.

"I knew you would get _another_ crush soon!" Bonnie said to me. That angered me a bit. Did my friends think that I went around crushing on boys all the time?

"It's not a crush… yet." I whispered the word 'Yet'.

My friends smiled at me.

"It's ok Denise. We're only teasing you." Lisa said to me and she patted my back. I smiled at her. I looked at all my friends.

"It's fine." I told them. We all paused for a moment.

"What will it take for me to get a script around here?" I said jokingly but also in a bossy way. They all laughed. The tension in the room lifted. I was so relieved. I hoped that they wouldn't bring the topic up. I was so confused. I didn't know what else there was to say.

The rest of the school day went by pretty fast. I couldn't pay attention. So many thoughts were running through my head. Did I have a crush on Matt? Was I going to see him again? Was I going to make a move? No way, I thought on the last question. I wasn't that kinda girl. I was too shy.

I got home by bus but Matt wasn't there. I was relieved. I spent the rest of the day doing homework and random stuff like singing in my room. Yup, singing, my own songs too, and playing guitar. I was so happy that my parents didn't mind me causing a racket. When I was done practicing I took a shower and got dressed. Then I went to bed, with my last thought being a flashback of what happened in the bus. It made me feel all fluttery inside, yet at the same time, it scared the hell out of me.

The next morning went by quickly. I woke up at the right time and got to the bus stop efficiently. This time, I had my bus pass, ha-ha showed that bus driver… oh wait, it was a different one. He seemed uninterested that I had succeeded in remembering it, but whatever.

I was disappointed to see that Judy wasn't there. Oh well, I thought. I looked around the bus carefully. Matt wasn't on board. Phew, I thought to myself.

I went and found a seat by myself and took out my iPod. I plugged in my earphones and began listening to 'Crazy' by Stars go dim. I just adored this song. It had such meaningful lyrics and it really warmed my heart. A smile crept onto my face as I listened to it.

That smile disappeared when Matt boarded the bus a few moments later. He must've been late and had to go to a bus stop further down. I frantically looked around the bus and it was crowded everywhere, except for the seat next to me.

He showed his bus pass to the driver and began walking down the aisle. As soon as I realised that I was staring at him and looked away, he had already seen me and he smiled.

"May I sit here?" He asked me politely. I lifted my bag off the seat and rested it on my lap. I nodded.

A few minutes past and I had kept 'Crazy' on replay. I tried to look at Matt using my peripheral vision and I saw that he was staring at me. This was really awkward. I finally turned my head towards him to look at him directly.

"What is it?" My voice seemed to be shaky. I was so nervous.

"Oh... it's nothing." He said and smiled at me. I looked away with my cheeks burning again.

"So what's your name?" He asked me.

"D-D-Denise." I stuttered.

"Are you cold? You can borrow my jacket right now if you want." He was about to take off his jacket. Great he thought I was stuttering because I was cold. Even though it was freezing, I wasn't stuttering because of that.

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm warm." I quickly said before his jacket came off. Wow he was sweet, I thought. He nodded. I focused my attention on my iPod again.

"So what song are you listening to?" He asked me with a cute smile playing on his lips.

"Crazy, by Stars go dim." I replied sheepishly. Then I did something before I could think it through.

"Do you wanna listen?" I asked him while taking out an earphone.

"Sure." He took the earphone from my hand. As our hands touched I felt a jolt of electricity. He must've felt it too. We both jumped slightly from our seats.

"Um…" He said while putting the earphone into his ear. Strange… but maybe it was just static electricity.

"Sorry…?" I said, utterly confused, sounding like it too. He just smiled at me. And just for the record, he had one gorgeous smile. Oh and he was _fiiinne… _Ha-ha.

The song finished. I never got tired of it. It was just so beautiful. I wondered what Matt thought of it.

"Wow. That song was just… wow." He said looking astounded.

"It's the best song I've heard recently." I replied giving him a warm smile.

"I think I'm hooked right now." He laughed.

"I am too." I laughed back. We ended up laughing until his stop came. Oddly enough, I felt comfortable around him.

He took the earphone out of his ear and handed it to me. We both felt a jolt of electricity when his hand touched mine again. Weird, I thought. But I didn't think much of it, it was just static electricity again… well what else could it have been? He got out of his seat and swung his bag over his shoulder.

"See you later Denise." He said while walking away, still looking at me.

"See ya." I replied giving him one last smile. He smiled back and got off of the bus.

'What had just happened?' I thought to myself. I sank into my seat and listened to 'Crazy' a few more times before getting off at my school.

I felt so good at that moment. It was like I could fly, or jump off a cliff without a care in the world.

**

* * *

**

**Some characters are real, some aren't.**

**But they're only based on people i know, but with the same names... lol**

**Unfortunately for me, Matt is fictional... rofl**

**I hope you liked it! :)**


	2. Meet Rose

**This story was dedicated to my friends so i wasn't sure if anyone else was going to read it, so it surprised me when i got reviews from other people who were very nice! Thankyou for reading this!**

**Anyone can read this so... uh... ya...**

**If you do, then give me a review! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers.**

**-Deni**

* * *

All I could think about was Matt. My mind was off in la la land all day.

"Denise." The teacher called out to me. I was staring out the window.

"Denise!!!" The teacher shouted, sounding annoyed. I jumped slightly out of my seat and looked at her. She looked triumphant from finally getting my attention, but her expression quickly changed to annoyance.

"Denise, look at the board." I looked; it was scribbled all over with diagrams of complicated figures.

"Do you have a pair of compasses?" The teacher asked me with the annoyance still in her voice. I nodded. I twisted around and bent down to open the zipper of my bag which was hanging on my school chair. I took out my mathematical tools and placed them on my desk.

"Good. Now pay attention." The teacher eyed me suspiciously. I gulped. I looked around the classroom and everyone was looking at me like they were going to laugh. But thankfully, they didn't.

Maths. It was always a subject that I didn't seem to get along with. I always seemed to struggle at times, but on some weird occasions, I excelled.

I tried drawing the complicated figures into a page on my Maths book. I looked to my left side at my friend Julie's book. She drew the figures perfectly! Then I looked back at my book and mine looked like… scribbles.

Julie was one of my first friends and she was so awesome. She liked to annoy and tease me which I didn't mind. She was always nice, funny and smart. She also sometimes talked as fast as the Road runner ran, but overtime, I understood her, while other people were still confused.

The bell finally rang and it was the end of the school day. I quickly gathered my things and stuffed them into my bag. I got out of my seat and ran outside the door. I couldn't wait to see Matt again.

I ran outside the school gates and found Judy waiting for the bus.

"Heya!" I shouted while running towards her.

"Hello." Judy replied in such a cute tone.

"So anything interesting happen to you today?" I asked while smiling.

"Hmm… nothing much." She said back with her own smile. It was like if smiling was a drug, we were addicted.

"Oh ok-"

"Bus!!!" Judy called out before I could finish what I was saying. We ran towards the bus door and waited in a line of people showing their passes. I started feeling anxious and hopeful. I really hoped that Matt was there.

I got up the steps and showed my bus pass to the driver, but he didn't seem to care at all. I shrugged and looked around the bus.

There he was, sitting in one of the blue chairs, ever so perfectly. Gosh, I really did have a crush on him. Yikes.

I looked behind him, the chair was empty. He noticed me looking his way and smiled. It seemed like he was addicted to smiling as well. I walked over towards him and sat behind him. Judy sat next to me.

There was an awkward silence as I imagined what was going to happen next. Since Judy was next to me, I felt a whole lot calmer. The nervous meter was toned down a notch.

Finally, Matt turned around, looking as anxious as I was.

"Hi." He said, though I wasn't sure who he was directing it to.

"Hi. This is Judy." I said while tipping my head quickly towards her. I straightened up and smiled at him. He chuckled.

"Am I missing something?" Judy looked at me suspiciously as she asked me that.

"Oh, um, this is Matt." I said quickly.

"Ok… hi." Judy said to him. He nodded back with a smile.

"So, uh, what year are you in?" I asked him nervously. I felt like making a run for it from all the awkward tension.

"Year 10. What about you?" He asked sincerely.

"Year 8." I replied. He laughed.

"Wait til' you get to my year. I wish you good luck!" He said with a wink. I blushed and looked out the window.

"It's so cold." Judy said randomly.

"Ya… it is." I replied to her. Wow, we were actually talking about the weather. It got _that_ awkward.

The bus stopped.

"Ok. Well I'll see you later." Matt said while standing up and heading toward the door. Was he talking to me? Well… I kinda hoped so.

"What was that about?" Judy asked me.

"Um… what do you mean?" I eyed her curiously. I knew exactly what she meant though.

"Who was he?" She asked me, seeming to already know.

"A friend." I replied, not noticing that my voice seemed to go shaky.

"Right…" She crossed her arms.

"Ok fine… well… I think I have a crush on him… ok!" I finally admitted to her.

"Tsk, tsk… Denise." She said while shaking her head, but laughter was written all over her face.

"What?" I said acting irritated. She laughed. We spent the rest of the bus ride in a comfortable silence, unlike the one when Matt was with us.

"See you tomorrow Judy." I said while taking my bag and walking down the aisle.

"Bye!" She said cheerfully as I got out the door.

I got home and started preparing for my dancing lessons that afternoon. Yup, I was a dancer, not a very good one though, but I still loved the sport, it kept me fit! And yes, I am a modest person. Well I'd rather be modest than egotistical.

As I was walking to my dance school I thought about how lucky I was to live so close. I got there and was greeted by my 'Ultra friend' Amelia. We had been friends since we were really young and we were practically sisters. We called each other 'Ultra friends' as we made up that phrase as meaning more than 'Best friends'. She was a lot like me, almost too much! People often got mixed up between us, even though we hardly looked alike. We both found it quite amusing.

Dancing lessons were over, Amelia had left and I was still inside the studio of my dance school. I peered through the main glass door and it was dark outside. Daylight saving hours were over, I remembered. Then I remembered another thing.

"_Denise!" My mum shouted for me. I got out of my room and went down the stairs. I was doing my homework after I had gotten back from school._

"_Yes mum?" I replied while walking to her._

"_You'll have to walk home from dancing tonight. Dad and I will be at his business meeting. I'm bringing Adam with me. I've already prepared something for you to eat, it's in the fridge." She said sounding stressed. Adam may have been a little angel, but he was still a baby, which kept my mum busy all the time._

"_Alright." I said as I went back upstairs to my room. I figured that it was time to start packing my bag for dancing._

I pulled out of my flashback and sighed. I grabbed my bag with my dancing essentials and walked through the glass door. It was cold outside and dark but I could still see.

I was walking along the street and I looked up at the full moon. It looked like a huge pearl shining in the sapphire sky, lighting my path as I walked along.

I passed a few houses when I heard a rustling noise. I looked around me and saw a shadow move, but it disappeared and I ignored it and kept walking. I was starting to get creeped out but I kept my even pace.

All of a sudden, a dark figure leapt out in front of me and I was so startled that I almost fell backwards. It was a tall man. But there was something strange about him, well obviously there was, but it was a different kind of strange that I was thinking about. Then I saw his eyes. They looked like rubies popping out of his eye sockets under the moonlight. They had to be contact lenses right? No-one could have red eyes naturally, could they?

I started to turn around to run but as I did, his hands grabbed me and threw me to the ground. Ouch, I was going to get bruises in the morning. If I survived this, that is. The odds were that I couldn't fight against this strong creepy man. What did he want from me? The thought scared me out of my senses.

He knelt on the ground and pulled my neck towards him. What was he doing? I tried to push him away, but I wasn't strong enough.

"No! Help!" I shouted, but no-one seemed to hear me. The street was empty and oddly quiet.

Before he could do whatever he was going to do, something else leapt out from somewhere, and that something pulled out something sharp. It looked similar to a stake that I'd seen on Buffy episodes.

The man that was next to me looked up at it and hissed. Was he part animal or something? The something thrust the stake into the man's heart. Oh my god, I was witnessing a murder. Was I next?

The something pulled the stake out and the man crumpled to the floor whimpering in pain. Then he went still. I looked up at the something that had killed him. The something walked out of the darkness, into the moonlight and was now in view. It was a girl.

"Hi. I'm Rose Hathaway." She said to me as I was shivering in fear.

**

* * *

**

**Hehe 'Denise' finally meets Rose. It only gets better from here. :)**

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!**


	3. Meet the Ancients

**Sorry for the long wait!**

**Here's chapter 3! This will have a lot of explaining that Vampire Academy fans will already know, but this is a story that anyone can read, so the explanation is needed...**

**lol**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

She… just… killed that man.

Then she was introducing herself? What the hell was she doing? What kind of psycho was she?

She looked at me oddly, waiting for a reply. I didn't want to reply, I was too scared to say one word.

She ignored me momentarily and took the corpse and threw it into a huge garbage bin a few metres away from us. Then she took out a match and lit it, and threw it in. A small blaze was coming from the bin, but it went out in a few minutes. I was still incapable of speaking to her.

So I ran. I ran as fast as I could back to my house. I wasn't a good runner though and I could hear Rose catching up to me.

Then she grabbed me and spun me around.

"Denise, everything is ok. Why are you running?" She said, not even breaking a sweat, while I was panting like a dog. Damn my lack of stamina.

"Wha-wha… how do you know my name?" I walked back from her slowly.

"I've been sent to find you." She walked forward, which made me immediately take a step back.

"Why?"

"You're part of something huge that you have never dreamed about."

"I'm what?" I stopped walking. What the hell was she talking about?

"Look, I'll explain it all to you, once we're inside."

We were at the front door of my house. Was I going to let this Rose who was practically a stranger into my home? Curiosity got the best of me. What did she mean by me being part of something huge?

I opened the door and we both stepped in cautiously.

"Is there anyone else in the house?" She asked, looking around.

"No… but there's a guard dog in the backyard that will defend me if you try anything!" I lied… probably unconvincingly. She laughed, which proved that I was right.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." She said calmly, acting professional.

"How do I know that's for sure? I saw you kill that man or thing or whatever he was!"

"That thing was a Strigoi." She pointed out. I was plain confused.

"A Stri-what?" I slammed the door behind me and the huge thump made me jump, though it had no effect on her.

"Is there some place we can sit down and talk about this? You might need some comfort for what I'm going to tell you."

"Um… ok." I replied awkwardly.

I led her to the living room and we both sat down on the sofa. I was a comfortable distance away from her. She gave me a weird look, she knew I was scared.

"Don't be afraid of me." She said, still with calmness in her voice.

"How can I not? I witnessed you committing a murder!" I almost screamed.

"I was protecting you. You don't understand."

"Then explain to me! Or I'll call the police!" I stood up from the sofa.

"Only if you calm down." She sounded reasonable, so I sat down, but I was very alert and ready to grab the phone. She sighed.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Ready for what?"

"The cold and bitter truth."

"Truth? What do you mean?"

"Your life has been a lie Denise. Are you ready to accept that?"

"My life, a lie? What are you talking about?" I was stunned. Was she serious?

"There are so many things that you need to learn. There are two important races of a species that you probably know. You've heard of Vampires right?" She asked.

"Vampires? They're fictional aren't they?"

"Though it may be hard to believe, since you've been living in a human world, they're real."

"So…" Yup, she was a loony, probably one that ran away from a loony bin, which meant that I was in danger… oh crap.

"What I killed just then, was a Vampire."

"Oh…" Was all I could say? I was too shocked.

"But he was a Strigoi, the kind of vampire that kills without mercy. They're pure evil."

"So… is there like a good race of vampires?" This was really weird; this Rose must've been crazy. There's no such thing as vampires.

"Of course! They're called the Moroi and unlike the Strigoi, they don't kill for blood."

"What do they do for food then?" Not killing humans for blood? That was really weird as well.

"Moroi have human feeders, people who have agreed to serve them."

"But why would anyone want that?"

"Well, vampire bites are addictive. They're like a drug." She said, like it was the most common thing in the universe, in fact she talked about all this like it was just a normal part in her life. Wait, how did she know so much?

"Oh… so what are you?" I asked pulling out of my own thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"Are you a human? You look like a human." Actually, Rose looked like an angel, not a human. She had looks that would make boys go crazy for her, while making girls jealous of her. I was somewhat jealous…

I had jet black long hair which went down a third of my back; she had long brown hair that looked well cared for. We both had brown eyes, but something about hers made me feel jealous. Perhaps it was that they were gorgeous yet they looked dangerous at the same time. Mine were plain old boring! Then she was European, I was Asian. But even so, I had features that most Asians didn't have. My nose was different for instance, it was actually kinda long and straight which my mum thought was the perfect nose, but how wrong I thought she was. Then I had huge ears, ok maybe that's an exaggeration but they were big and they stuck out a bit too. Rose was also way taller than me, and she looked older as well. Ok, I wasn't too short, I was about average height for my age.

"Actually, I'm what you call a Dhampir. I'm half Moroi half human and I'm mortal. You shouldn't judge by appearances Denise, Moroi and Strigoi can look like humans on some occasions, but they have a lot of differences to look out for."

"Like?"

"For instance, vampires are generally pale. Moroi tend to be tall and skinny and Strigoi have red eyes. Then of course, there are their fangs, but sometimes they're hard to see."

"Alright."

"Moroi and Dhampir can be born, but Strigoi can only be made. There are only two ways to become a Strigoi, if you choose to, or if you're forced. Only Moroi can choose to become Strigoi, all they have to do is kill someone when feeding, and that's when they become evil. Or Moroi, Dhampir and humans can be forced, from a Strigoi drinking their blood and then them drinking Strigoi's blood in return."

"Ew. That's beyond weird."

"Yes, weird to you I guess. Is it too much for you to absorb?"

"Nah, I think I'm fine right now. You can continue." I didn't believe one word that she was saying, but hey, I wanted to humour her. It was the least I could do for an insane person, plus I didn't want to make her angry at me.

"Now, the only way dhampirs can be born is if a Moroi gets with a dhampir. I know, weird. You'd think that the offspring would be ¾ Moroi, but no, they're half Moroi half human."

"What if a Strigoi got with a human?"

"Funny you've wondered that. That's never happened, so I don't know the result."

"Oh… ok. What about dhampirs getting together?"

"Unfortunately we can't have children together due to some weird genetic fluke. The only way dhampirs can be made is from Moroi and dhampir getting together now since Moroi have been avoiding humans lately. Dhampirs have advantages from being half human half Moroi, our senses are heightened and we can stay out in the sun. So we dhampirs are trained to protect Moroi. We have to protect them, it's important for our race to survive."

"So you become…. Bodyguards?"

"Yeah I guess you could say that. We're trained as Guardians and we have to protect the Moroi from the Strigoi."

"Why? Are the Moroi helpless?"

"Not really. Being a vampire does come with advantages… and disadvantages. Moroi are kind of like living vampires, so they're only mortal, but each Moroi specializes in an element at a certain age. They acquire magical abilities in earth, air, fire, water or spirit."

"So they can use these powers to protect themselves?"

"Yes they can. It was forbidden until now. Strigoi numbers are growing and we need to do as much as we can to bring that number down."

"What's spirit?"

"Ah, well I'll talk about that later. Anyway, since Moroi are like living vampires, Strigoi are kind of… dead. They lost their souls when they turned so they're immortal which just makes them a huge pain in the ass. They can't specialize in an element, because they can't stand being around life and magic's full of life. But Strigoi still have powers."

"What sort of powers?"

"Strigoi are strong and fast. However, they can use compulsion which allows them to force their will on others. All vampires can naturally use compulsion, but Strigoi can use it to a greater extent, and it's forbidden for Moroi to use it."

"Wow, so how do you kill Strigoi?"

"There are 3 ways. Burn them, stake them in the heart or decapitate them."

"Ouch."

"Vampires have other advantages. They have greater senses therefore dhampirs do as well, but Moroi and Strigoi can't go out into the sun. Moroi can handle a bit, but they can't stay out for long."

"So you said that you were trained to become guardians, where does this training take place? Why haven't any humans discovered all this yet?" Wow, she had a wide imagination.

"We're trained at academies all over the world and we're pretty well hidden. I was trained at one called 'St. Vladimir's.'"

"Wow… ok." Even though I didn't believe her, all these lies were very complicated and were very well thought.

"Anyway, the Moroi and Strigoi have existed for centuries. Strigoi tend to hunt down Moroi more often because their blood gives them more of a kick than human blood. The Moroi have a number of Royal families, and the Strigoi have recently been hunting them down, wanting to finish them off."

"I don't understand. Why am I a part of this?"

"Well you see, I have a royal best friend named Lissa and she specialized in Spirit. Spirit is way different to the other elements, it makes you stronger in compulsion almost like a Strigoi's, allows you to heal living things, walk into people's dreams, see people's auras… all sorts of crazy things. We still haven't found out everything yet."

"Wow… that sounds unbelievable."

"But do you believe it?" I could see a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"Honestly, no. I feel like this is a movie. Am I being punk'd?" I was taking a huge risk… but I needed to get her out of my house… or something…

"You don't believe me? This is real Denise! This is real! Here I have something for you." She was wearing a shoulder bag and she took out a thick book. She gave it to me and closed up her bag.

"What's this?"

"It's a book that explains everything in more detail. Probably better than I can explain it to you."

I examined the book. It was heavy and had some weird looking markings on the sides of the cover. It looked ancient.

"Anyway, what you have to do with this is beyond your imagination. You're a huge part of our war."

"I'm part of the war?!?!" She was starting to really freak me out.

"Well Lissa and I did some research about Spirit and we found out that there were a group of beings called The Ancients. Neither human or vampire, they _were the elements_, they were the original creatures that specialized in them. They were the first, the only and they were immortal."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me."

"Hang on. Be patient. These ancients existed for centuries, witnessing the war raging among the vampire species. The Moroi didn't have powers yet, they had to use other weapons. The dhampirs also fought with the Moroi but there weren't many of us. The ancients recognised who the good side was and they cast a spell. By spell, I mean big time magic, more powerful than any Moroi or Strigoi even combined. They made the Elemental rings, each one representing an element. This spell allowed Moroi to specialize in the first place. It was completely shocking when Lissa and I discovered this. There was a man called Vladimir who was the first Moroi to specialize in spirit, well that was what most books told us, and they were right, but they didn't say how. We didn't have any records of the ancients at all at St. Vladimir's. In fact we got that book that you have now, that said everything about them, from the Strigoi. We don't know how _they_ found it."

"Whoa. So what happened to the ancients?"

"Well the Moroi started specializing and using their new powers to fight, and you'd think they were winning. But no, the Strigoi were taking over and the ancients were worn out from creating the elemental rings. The Moroi may have had new powers, but they didn't know how to use them instantly and most died from accidents, that's why it became forbidden. They told us that the reason it was forbidden was because they wanted to be peaceful, but that was just a lie passed down through the generations."

"That's a shame. It's like the Ancients did all that hard work, and then the Moroi didn't even use their new powers... until now." She nodded in reply.

"One night, the ancients held a meeting with all the Moroi existing at the time and explained their new powers to them, however the Strigoi ambushed them. The ancients were weak and were easy targets for the Strigoi. Lots of information about all of this was destroyed, luckily I had some connections and that book you're holding, so that's how we learnt so much already. Tales of the Elemental rings, of the ancients, of the war, of the ambush. All of the ancients died unfortunately… except one ancient's body was unaccounted for."

"So one may have survived?"

"That's what we think. The last ancient went into hiding in the human world. Some stories say that after several centuries, he couldn't handle all the running and his powers were deteriorating so he created an offspring."

"He created a child? What? He's a man!" How obvious and ridiculous was this?

"He used magic. He used all the life left in him to create another ancient and sent it to a loving family. So… he died creating the child, he was too weak."

"Oh my god… poor man… So there's an Ancient living among us now?"

"Yes. And we think it's you."

* * *

**:)**

**I created lots of things there using only my imagination.**

**I own The Ancients… lol not Richelle. XD**

**:P**

**I hoped you liked it!**

**REVIEW! :D**


	4. Where's Ashton Kutcher?

**Hey guys! **

**JEESH it's been months since i updated this story. I'm terribly sorry! :3**

**Happy New Year!**

**Here's to a new year, filled with lots of creative writing. *drinks from imaginary wine glass which isn't filled with alcohol, but sparkling apple juice* xD**

**:F ---- Check it out, it's a vamp. ;D Haha... when i discivered this, i was so happy. LOL**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

"M-m-me?!?! How is that possible?" I dropped the heavy and ancient book onto the floor.

"The Strigoi are after you. They found out about your whereabouts a few days ago and we got one of them to tell us where you were." She picked up the book and placed it on the sofa, next to me.

"What do they want from me?"

"You're an ancient. Ancients created the Elemental rings; therefore you're the only one with enough power to destroy them. The Strigoi came up with this plan ever since Moroi started to use magic offensively again. Bastards." She shook her head at the thought of Strigoi plotting everything. As for me, I was more than freaked out right now. I mean, 'Strigoi' were after me! Come on! Why me?!?!

But then of course, I wasn't sure if this was real.

"Have you met anyone in the past few days?" She asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you met anyone new?" She looked at me, as though she was trying to figure out something. Matt floated through my mind. No way was I going to tell her about Matt.

"You mean, like my love life? Pffftt… nope. Do you have a special someone?" I asked before she could question me further. I didn't even know if she was talking about my love life…. My currently non-existent love life… but I hoped it would get her to stop asking me about who I met recently.

"Yes... well, I did." A sudden wave of depression seemed to overshadow her and I got a strange feeling about her, a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I gave her a questioning look.

"It's complicated." She said as she scrunched up her face in frustration.

"What was his name?"

"Dimitri… Dimitri Belikov." As she whispered his name sorrowfully, the darkness seemed to engulf her even further. I didn't know who she was, or if she was mental, but I never liked seeing someone upset.

"Don't worry he'll come running back to you." I assumed that he broke up with her and now she was missing him.

"It isn't that simple… even though I wish it was."

"What do you mean?"

"He's… Strigoi."

"You fell for a Strigoi?!?!" Ok, now I didn't care if it was real or not, but she fell in love with a Strigoi?!?! Ok, now I knew she was crazy.

"He used to be a guardian. He was my own mentor at St. Vladimir's, I was his student, and we fell for each other… it was really quite unstoppable." She laughed with no humour at the last part that she said. I didn't really know what to say, I was half sorry for her, half shocked.

"Then we were both assigned to Lissa as her guardians, which meant that we'd have to try and forget the stuff between us, because she was our Moroi after I graduated so we had to protect her. If we had let our feelings get in the way, Lissa could've been killed, or worse, turned Strigoi." And I thought _my_ love life was complicated. I nodded in reply, still unsure of what to say.

"But… we couldn't forget what we had…"

"It must've been really special then." I was feeling a whole heck of sympathy for her right now… but at the same time, I was jealous, because well, I hadn't experienced love yet.

"It was. We figured it all out, how to be together without Lissa getting hurt. He was going to get reassigned to the Royal Court."

"Royal Court?"

"It's owned by Queen Tatiana, Royal Moroi, and a total bitch." She laughed a bit, but still looked depressed. I laughed a bit as well; it was a kind of sad laugh though.

"It's basically her little palace. Ugh." She got a funny look on her face, and this time, I really cracked up.

"Oh gee, sorry." I said sincerely, regaining my composure.

"It's fine. That bitch needs to rot in hell."

"So… how did Dimitri get turned Strigoi?"

"Well, literally right after we got things figured out, St. Vladimir's was attacked by Strigoi. We were ambushed." My jaw dropped. Strigoi ambushing people, was that common?

"What happened?" I asked. The sympathetic side of me just took over and I started to believe that Rose wasn't crazy. Her face was full of emotion, true emotion. She wasn't lying. I could feel it. Wait, I could physically feel it! What the hel-

"Many were killed. It was a horrific night." She took me out of my thoughts. I was feeling something strange… maybe what she was saying was true… what if I had powers?!?!

"But then the Strigoi had to retreat because the sun had risen, but they had taken people as hostages." She continued and I covered my mouth with my hand in shock. I could feel myself getting very emotional, as she was, but what I felt, was probably nothing to what she felt remembering all of this.

"Did you try to rescue them?"

"Of course, but when we were escaping, with the people that we had saved, a Strigoi caught Dimitri and…" Tears fell from her eyes. I couldn't stop myself, but I patted her back, trying to comfort her. To my surprise, she didn't freak out or anything.

"It's ok…" But was it? That was such a stupid response from me. It obviously wasn't ok for her right now.

"The Strigoi sunk his teeth into his neck before I could save him. I had to run back to the academy before any more Strigoi attacked. I regret that decision everyday."

"How did you know that he was Strigoi and not dead?"

"I thought he was dead at first. But… somehow, I felt that Dimitri was still alive, because he was strong, they couldn't have just eaten him. Then a friend confirmed to me that he had been turned."

"Oh… Have you seen him since then?" She didn't reply for a few moments, but I continued to pat her back.

"No…" She cried harder and suddenly wiped her tears with the sleeve of the big black coat she was wearing. She was wearing a black t-shirt underneath it and a pair of jeans. I was still wearing my dance uniform, which I actually thought was pretty cool.

"I'm sure you'll see him again… one day."

"But, I have to kill him."

"You have to kill him?!?!" I jumped and pulled away from her, landing with a small 'thud' on the other side of the sofa.

"It's what he wanted. He told me that he'd rather be dead than Strigoi, back when he was a dhampir..."

"Oh." The mood in the room was depressing. This Rose had a complicated life. I felt guilty for being so lucky, living a 'normal life' away from all her supernatural drama.

"What happened after Dimitri was taken away?"

"I wanted to find him, and kill him. I wanted to get it over and done with. But that meant dropping out of St. Vladimir's, leaving Lissa and all my other friends behind." This was really sounding like some awesome action movie, but no, this was real. And I felt like I was in a dream. I pinched myself. Ok, ouch. No, I was awake. Rose didn't even notice me being weird; she kept staring at the ground of the living room. I somehow felt extremely saddened as well from what she was telling me, was this some 'Ancient' thing? Would I have felt this sad if I were… human?

"But… you didn't drop out." I assumed, considering that she said that she and Lissa had done all this research together recently. If she dropped out, they wouldn't be together. She smiled weakly.

"It's good to hear that you're paying attention. No, I couldn't leave her behind. Besides, she had convinced me to stay. I was lucky that I did, because the next day, news broke out about Strigoi growing in numbers. If I wasn't there, I wouldn't have been notified."

"Then, is Dimitri still alive? Well, I mean, uh, dead?" Ok, this time, she did laugh a bit.

"I have no idea. But, I know he's out there. And if anyone's going to kill him, it's going to be me." As freaky as that sounded, my spirits lifted a bit. It was nice to hear her laughing.

I looked at the clock, I wasn't sure when my parents were coming home, but Rose and I had been talking for… two hours!

How long did a business meeting go for? I had no clue. My parents could be home at any second.

"Um, Rose. I think you might have to go soon. I don't know when my parents are coming back."

"Oh, that's ok. I was about to leave anyway. I think I've told you enough for today."

"So then, I'll see you again?"

"Of course." I couldn't believe it, but, I actually kinda believed her story. But what if she _was_ a loony? She wanted to see me again? I was feeling uncertain about everything.

"Uh… ok."

"Besides, I think that's all you can handle today, and I'm sure I've covered all the hard stuff." Like my life being a lie? Ha, the thought made me feel weird.

I really thought I was being punk'd' now. I expected Ashton Kutcher to pop up any second… if I were punk'd I'd be on TV! I was getting excited in my mind and I didn't realise that I smiled a bit. Rose laughed.

"I guess it wasn't that 'hard' for you then? Well, here's my number, contact me anytime you want." She handed me a small piece of paper that she pulled out from the pocket of her big black coat.

Ashton Kutcher hadn't shown up yet.

But come on, seriously? All this she was telling me, it seemed too… exaggerated, could something like a war between vampires really exist on Earth?

"Ok." I said, looking at the piece of paper she gave me which I held in my hand.

"I'll be going no-"

I heard a car driving onto the driveway in front of the garage door, in front of the house. My parents were home. Rose was still here.

"Oh crap. They're back!" I was panicking. I couldn't let my parents find out that I had a stranger in our house, and most importantly, a loony.

"Is there any other way I can get out?"

"Oh! You could get out through the back door from the backyard that leads into the front yard!"

"That's fine." We both stood up from the sofa and I pointed to the door leading to the backyard.

"I need to get my keys." I grabbed the ancient book, figuring that I should put it in my room and ran up the stairs. I snatched my keys from my dresser and put the book down on my study table. I ran back down, almost tripping, but somehow, I grabbed onto the railing, faster than I ever had before, saving myself from falling down. My reflexes had gotten better. That was odd.

"Hurry!" Rose shouted as I suddenly snapped out of my 'What the hell is happening to me?' phase and ran to the door leading to the backyard and shoved a key into the door's lock.

The security gate in front of the front door was unlocking. My parents were almost in.

Then I realised. I didn't have a key for the door that led to the front yard. It had been padlocked.

"Oh sheesh!" I pulled the key out from the door.

"What?"

"We have to get you out another way." She didn't ask questions, and went with what I said next, which I was grateful for.

"Go upstairs and hide in my bedroom."

She ran, like lightning, and sheesh she was light, hardly making a sound on the stairs. The front door opened and I awkwardly tried to casually lean on the wall next to me.

"Hi guys." My tone was weird, but I tried to shake it off.

"Are you ok?" My dad asked while he moved to the side letting my mum walk through the front door with my little brother in her arms.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I got off the wall and started walking towards the stairs; I had to check on Rose.

"Denise?" My mum called. I froze, my back was to them.

"Yeah?" I replied, hoping that they wouldn't suspect anything weird.

"Did you eat dinner?" Oh nuts. I forgot about dinner. I didn't have an appetite after meeting Rose anyway.

"Uh, yeah, it was nice. Thanks mum." I lied and started going up the stairs while my heart pounded out of my chest.

My parents then went on to their own things, not questioning me about anything else. Thank goodness.

I got to my bedroom and my curtain was open, the doors that led to my balcony were unlocked. My room's balcony faced the other side of the street. I rushed over to the doors and saw Rose jumping off the balcony. I was worried for a second, but saw that she landed on the ground carefully, and safely. Did this girl have cat reflexes or something?

Wait, I was worried? This was a stranger, but not only that; she was a loony, probably from a loony bin. Yet, somewhere inside of me, I felt that what she had told me, was too detailed and twisted, not to be true. My mind was telling me that she was either crazy or an incredible actress participating in the show 'Punk'd', but my gut was telling me that she was real, and… vampires were real.

Then I realised, I was in Australia. 'Punk'd' was an American show. I slapped my forehead and then rubbed my temples. I wasn't sure what the hell was going on. I locked the doors leading to my balcony and closed the curtains.

I looked at my desk, where the ancient book was lying. Maybe she'd just been telling me about a fictional story, and this was the story book.

I closed my bedroom door and picked the book up. I sat on my bed and took a better look at it this time. It was in a brown leathery cover and was definitely old. It smelt weird. The ancient markings looked a bit like swirls, dots and random shapes, joined together. I looked carefully at the front of the cover. The markings were very detailed and in a way, beautiful. I was staring at them for a long time, when words floated through my mind.

'The Ancient's Sacrifice'… was that the title of the book? Did I just read the markings? Maybe it was just a random thought, yeah; I had an interesting imagination anyway.

I opened it, the pages were a cream colour and there were handwritten ancient markings, all over the first page. I flicked through the book quickly, and they were all written in these markings. How the hell did Rose and Lissa read this? Were they on drugs or something? If Rose really was a loony, the chance of her taking drugs, would probably be likely. I flipped back to the front page and stared at it.

The markings started to move. They started to change. Into English? What the hell? I blinked a few times, not believing my eyes.

This book was weirder than I thought. They were ancient markings a few seconds ago, and now they were the language I used the most, even though I was Asian. The book must've known. Heck, maybe it had a mind of its own?!

That creeped me out, and I dropped the book to the floor.

It opened to the middle of the book, and there was something that I hadn't noticed before. It was a page that seemed to be made out of some kind of brown metal, but it was thin. I picked the book back up and tapped on the metal page with my finger. It was strong, and made an interesting sound when I tapped on it, like it was a note on a xylophone.

I examined the page further. Right in the middle, was a five pointed star and each of the points had their own colour. Green, white, red, blue and yellow... could they resemble earth, air, fire, water and spirit? That would be interesting if it did. There were more intricate markings on the edges of this page, which were amazing. If someone could draw markings like this, they could win an art competition for an abstract painting or something. I wondered why these weren't translated into English, maybe this page was special? There were ten markings, which may have been ten 'words' in this language. Two on top and bottom, while three on left and right. They were all different.

"Wow…" I whispered to myself. Then I looked to the centre of the star which was the shape of a pentagon. It was somewhat hollow, well, sinking into the page like a tiny bowl and was the same colour as the page itself. There were little spikes along the sides of the pentagon, going towards the centre of the shape.

I moved before thinking and ran my finger along the spikes. It tickled at first, but then it stung and I pulled my finger away.

"Ow!" The spikes were sharp, and had cut me. A drop of blood had dropped into the little bowl-like centre of the pentagon. The drop of blood moved into the centre of the shape, and it began to open up. A bright blue-ish light was coming from the hole in the pentagon, which kept getting bigger and eventually filled the whole star.

Then, a strong wind, coming from nowhere surrounded me and made my hair tie break and my long hair was everywhere. The wind continued to blow when I tried to close the book. It wouldn't let me. I started to feel light-headed and weak while I fought against the strong wind.

Before I knew it, I was sucked into the bright blue-light.

* * *

**I hope you liked it! :D**

**LOL i just realised that the whole 'sucking into the book' thing reminds me of Harry Potter. :S**

**I didn't intend to copy anything from J.K. Rowling and so, Harry Potter Fans, please don't hurt me! xD**

**What i'm doing is gonna be different anyway. :)**

**OH and for my friends that are reading this, one of you will be featured in the next chapter. ;)**

**And here's a clue, she's a Harry Potter fan. LOL**

**One most likely to get angry at me for this small HP coincidence as well... xDXDXD**

**REVIEWS ARE LOVE, WHICH IS MUCH NEEDED IN MY NON-EXISTENT LOVE LIFE.**

**lol? xD**


	5. The Truth

**Sorry for the approximately 2 months of waiting... :S**

**I went on holiday so i didn't have time to update. Please forgive me! :O**

**Anyway, here it is!**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

"Ouch." I rubbed the back of my head and tried to sit up. I opened my eyes but my vision was collapsing and everything was spinning.

All I could hear were screams and the roar of a fire.

It was hot, no, not in the sense that Paris Hilton uses that word, but it was boiling. No… more than boiling, I was almost 'Well done'. My vision finally settled.

There were people running around frantically, trying to get out. The room was dark, with the only light coming from large fires that blazed from different areas of the giant room. Dark figures were slaughtering people.

Firstly, where was I?

And secondly, what the hell?!

I still remembered everything though. The book had sent me here. Somehow.

I struggled to stand up, but eventually did. Then someone pushed me back down. It was one of the dark figures. It had jumped on me, making me land on my back. It had a… knife?

The dark figure lifted the knife above its head, ready to strike. All I could see were its red glowing eyes.

It was a Strigoi. Wait, why would a Strigoi even need a knife?

I could feel my heartbeat in my head, seriously, I don't know how it's possible, but it has happened to me before. I could hear it, speeding up like the road runner, trying to get away from the coyote. My life didn't flash past my eyes though… sadly… yet. It would've been interesting to see it though… hmmm…

"Merrick! No!" I heard a girl shout. She stopped him and took his knife from him in one swift movement. He hissed at her. I got a better look at the knife in her hand. It didn't look like an ordinary knife. The blade was long and thin but looked… _blunt_?

"He's off limits." She told him with a stern tone. He got off me but she kept his knife. Her look softened when she looked at me and she reached her free hand out to me. I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up.

Wait; did she call me a 'he'? I looked at my hands. They weren't my hands. They were a man's hands. I… was a man?

"I'm terribly sorry about that fool, Zandicus." I looked back up to her and she smiled at me. She had red eyes as well. She was a Strigoi, one that had _saved_ my life…

"Well, don't worry about your payment, you will receive it soon enough. What you did today, betraying your own people, was a very brave deed to do. Thankyou." She put her hand on my shoulder, but after I didn't reply, she looked at me strangely. Her 'thankyou' also seemed kinda off, like she didn't really mean it. I was getting strange vibes from her, and I was also getting the 'hibbly jibblies'… well that's what I liked to call them. After all, she _was_ a Strigoi. She seemed of French descent with her awesome accent, and she had wild red hair that mimicked the movement of the fire, as the heat lifted it into the air, giving her an eerie but powerful look. She was also very tall, almost the height of me…. Or well Zandicus… whoever he was. She wore clothes that looked pretty old as well, well not of my time… wait. Did I travel back in time?

Since I am pretty much a sci-fi geek, this would be a nice and convincing conclusion. Hey, I could be the female Doctor who!

"Um….You're welcome…?" Ok, not the best thing to say… but… _holy snap!_ I even _sounded_ like a man. Jeesh, this was weird.

"Are you ok Zandicus?" She eyed me suspiciously.

"I'm not Zandicus, my name is Den-" Damn it, damn it, damn it! I almost let my real identity slip. Ah, crap.

"You're an impostor?" She came closer to me, I gulped.

"Uh…. No." Ok, I didn't sound very assuring… but how could I when I was just about to _wee_ my pants??? She gave me a little evil smirk. Uh-oh.

She took a small step back and lifted the knife that was still in her hand. I got an even better look of it now. It had a gold handle, which I assumed was also made by that material and it had weird markings on it… just like the book!!!

I wasn't able to see them properly though, her hand was covering them.

"This is the Ancient Golden Dagger, the only thing that can kill an Ancient. But it's blunt so if I stabbed a non-ancient with it, it would take more force, and would probably be more painful," she ran the blade across her index finger, but nothing happened. It really _was _blunt.

"Yet, it is the only thing that can pierce an Ancient's skin, _easily_, without a lot of force. But since you're an impostor, what would be better than killing you with this dagger, bringing you _more_ pain?" I suspected that the markings must've been some sort of magic that allowed them to be so powerful against the Ancients and them only. She gave me one last evil smile and was about to strike.

"Flora no!" A blonde, tall, and extremely muscly man shouted. Ha-ha, frankly, he was quite hot. Well I'm sorry, but even in a time that I could die, am I not allowed calling a guy hot when he clearly deserves the title? And thank this hot guy for coming in, at the best time ever. Jeesh, I was almost stabbed by that dagger.

"Jasper! He's an impostor! I must kill him at once!" Flora shouted at him.

"No! We need him alive. If he's an impostor, then the real Zandicus has escaped. This impostor should know his whereabouts." He retorted. Damn it… hot _and _intelligent? Oh and not to mention, _evil_? Oh crap…

"You know, I didn't just choose you to be my mate because you were and still are _extremely_ sexy…" Flora purred at him. Jeesh, could they get a room? He smiled at her and held her in his arms. She returned his smile with a seductive smile of her own.

I took this as a chance to run. Heck, better yet if they just did _it_ there, they would've given me more time.

I ran, really foolishly, as I didn't know where to go and there was fire almost everywhere, destroying things, burning them up, people too. The sight really was horrific. The thought of even doing _it _here, would definitely _not _be romantic at all, but I guess that didn't stop Flora and Jasper. Heck, they were evil, this scenery probably acted like an aphrodisiac.

I found a large fallen piece of something, which looked like a slab of marble and I took this as a chance to rest, to hide. I really didn't know where to go or how the hell to get back to my peaceful and un-war-like bedroom. It was really hot and the screams of people seemed non-stop. There were sounds of people crying and that sickening sound of someone being slashed or hit, just like in the movies. You know, how when someone gets punched, the sound is somewhat amplified in a movie? It _really_ sounded like that. I never knew that it would sound like that in real life. Heck, it kinda sounded like a battle scene in Lord of the Rings.

I tried to block my ears and I sat down behind the slab, tucking my legs into my chest. Jeesh, I really was a man, I was _much_ larger than my normal self. Everything was too frightening, this really was like Lord of the Rings, with all the killing… except this was real, and I was witnessing it first hand, saying that I was petrified would be an understatement. Where are you Gandalf?!? Frodo?!? Aragorn??? Help!

Sure, I was in a man's body. But I was still a little, cough, girl inside. I couldn't fight, let alone try and save people, no matter how much I wanted to, mostly because I was scared shitless, which made me feel extremely guilty.

Ok, I kinda swore just then, I only do that when something's _really_ serious, and trust me, this was serious.

I tried to distract myself, by well, actually looking at myself. I was wearing a white cape that was joined at the neckline by some kind of gold circular buckle with a symbol on it. The symbol seemed to be in the same style as the ones on the book and dagger. I wasn't sure what the symbol meant at first, but then when I really studied it, to get my mind off my surroundings, a word popped into my head.

Soul.

The symbol meant 'Soul'. The symbol was inside a five pointed star, and it was a circle with two concentric circles in it. Simple, but in a way, beautiful, it had a glow about it. Underneath the cape, I was wearing ordinary male clothing, well similar to what I saw other men wear.

Wait. I read the symbol/marking/whatever it was. Maybe I could read these markings if I really tried hard to!

Anyway, I took three deep breaths, trying to motivate myself, and looked over the slab I was resting my back on.

The room suddenly felt cooler. But then hotter. And then I felt a breeze that slowly turned into a strong wind. And then, the ground started to shake.

I was looking around at what in the world could possibly cause all this weird weather, especially indoors, and then I saw them.

Pale figures, not dark with red eyes, but… pale figures, controlling the indoor weather.

Moroi.

There was more than one controlling one element, so they couldn't have been the ancients.

Just like a light bulb suddenly appeared over my head, I knew where I was, or more frankly, when I was. That didn't really make sense, but I hope you get my drift.

Then I realised that all the people I had called 'people' were all Moroi. The Moroi were doing their best to fight off the Strigoi, but there were just too many, and being that they didn't really know how to control their powers, most died from well… themselves. Their powers backfired in some weird way.

Moroi were dying, everywhere, my heart reached out to them, if you get what I mean.

This was worse than witnessing childbirth.

Seriously.

But where were the Ancients?

Rose had said that the Ancients died, except for one… which was my supposed father.

I looked around more, scanning the bodies on the floor, and trust me, there were a lot.

Then I found the four of them.

They were lying on the ground, in a circle around a box of some sort that was on a small pillar-like stand in the centre of their circle. They were wearing the same white cape I was.

But wait.

Did that mean that I was… the surviving Ancient… i.e. my father???

WHOA, WHOA, _WHOA_ man.

I liked weird, but _this_, was too weird for any weirdo to handle.

I looked back to the ancients. The box they were around was opened. I scanned the throng of people again looking for Flora and Jasper. Hehe, 'throng', meant something like a crowd of people, thanks to my awesome English teacher for clearing that up. The word was awesome. Sounded like thong. Ha-ha.

Anyway, back to scanning the crowd… to my luck and surprise, thank God, Flora and Jasper weren't going at it like wild animals but were searching the throng as well… for, I was guessing… me. I wanted to get to the opened box in the centre of the deceased Ancients, though, and that was about 10m away… directly opposite from them. I didn't really know why I wanted to get the already opened box, but, something just told me that I needed it. I already came this far, why not go for it?

So I ran, sprinted, whatever, towards the box, and just my luck they saw me. Well, it wasn't exactly hard to notice a crazy and large man in a white cape running around like an idiot. I saw them coming towards me, like wolves, hunting their prey.

It was hard not to trip on a body on the ground, and knowing what a clumsy person I am, it was amazing that I didn't. The bodies gave my stomach a sick feeling, there really were many, and the box wasn't too far away from my slab, which meant that in that little distance, bodies almost filled the pathway. Not exaggerating here.

I got to the box and took it off the pillar-like stand. I was surprised to find that the box felt really smooth, and was made out of marble, but seemed like someone had polished it a gazillion times. Then I found weird markings on it, like on the book and dagger, on the inside of the lid.

I didn't have time to see if I could read these markings as well because Flora and Jasper were five seconds away. My heart pounded out of my chest, with my mind racing around and throwing insults at myself like 'You stupid, stupid girl! You should've stayed at the marble slab!', but it was too late.

I could never outrun them now, even if I tried, they'd get me anyway. I sank to the ground on my knees, feeling helpless.

I guessed this was it.

Goodbye world.

Goodbye my loving family.

Goodbye my awesome friends.

And goodbye to the incredibly cute guy named Matt.

I shut my eyes tightly, hoping, wishing, begging God, that if I did so, I'd somehow be transported back to my bedroom when I opened my eyes again. I started saying words in my mind, like when in Suddenly 30, Jenna had that magic wishing dust, and she was chanting something about being thirty and flirty, except I was chanting for my life, and in my mind… without the darn magic wishing dust that actually worked… in the movie… if you get what I mean. Oh wow, would you call that rambling? Ha-ha, so when I'm about to die, I ramble? That's pretty cool if I say so myself… but then of course, rambling was probably caused by how freaking scared I was! Am i even making any sense??? HA!

I continued to chant. I heard their footsteps getting _extremely_ close. So close, I could taste them. Ew. Ha-ha ok, now _that_ was an exaggeration.

Why was it that I made jokes when I was _coming close _to my _impending_ death? Ha-ha Tautology? Mr Reis would kill me!

Hey! What if I was Dorothy and all I had to do was click my red shoes to go home?

Ok, I was going nuts.

Firstly, that would probably only be possible, but probably never would since I was about to die, in my dreams… if I ever dreamt about the Wizard of Oz. I haven't actually seen the movie. Cue shocked gasps. Maybe I should've put it on my list of 'Things to do before I die', but I guess it's too late for that huh?

And secondly, I was a man. And unless Zandicus, AKA my 'father' was a cross-dresser, then I'd doubt that he'd be wearing red high-heeled shoes.

The sound of Flora's really evil and skin-crawling laugh got me out of my silly thoughts and snapped me back to reality. She was behind me. And I guessed Jasper was too.

Ah crap. I really was going to die.

I shut my eyes even tighter, if that was even possible, and waited for… well… something-

And I didn't feel the heat anymore. Or hear the screams. Or feel anyone grabbing me.

I opened my eyes.

I was back in my room.

Relieved, that I had survived that strange experience, I let go of the breath that I was holding.

Then I looked down.

The box was still in my hands.

* * *

Haha wasn't _that_ a funny experience?

As always, i hope you liked it! :)

Please review, i would love to know your thoughts, and if you want to be in it, or mentioned somewhere etc. just tell me!

On Facebook or in a review etc. :)

Kk, ttyl! Thanks for reading!

P.S. I was listening to Huang Xiaoming's album while editing this chapter and... *fan girl sigh*

LOL the album is called 'It's Ming'. All i have to say to that is, 'Why yes... it is. *wink wink*'

xD

Haha OH wouldn't it be funny if i put _him_ in this story?

BWAHAHAHAA.

Nice.

P.P.S Who can guess how i created the name 'Zandicus'? Anyone? ;P


	6. Chocolate Surprise

**Howdy y'all.**

**No-one really answered my question from the previous chappy so here's the answer:**

**The name Zandicus was derived from the name 'Zeddicus', and so was a mixture of that, with Zander. Why 'Zander'? I don't know why, so don't ask me.**

**LOL jk**

**Zander just popped into my head. I used 'Zeddicus' coz it's just TOO AWESOME. Zeddicus Zule Zorrander (Yes, that's a full name) is a character from 'The Sword of Truth' book series, turned TV series called 'Legend of the Seeker', which i HIGHLY recommend to everyone and anyone. **

**And i'm STILL tempted to put Huang Xiaoming in this... but... don't know how yet. xD**

**:L**

**Maybe he could be Matt's rival. :O**

**OOOOOOHHHHH. LOL**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

The box didn't seem like a hallucination from all the craziness I felt earlier... because I could feel it, the same smooth texture I felt when I was in that… place.

The book!

I looked around frantically wanting to get rid of that book immediately. Whatever it had done, I definitely did not like and I _so_ did not want to be in possession of.

It was next to me on my bed, still open at the page with the five pointed star and the little sharp edges that I had cut my finger on. I closed the book and threw it, yes, threw, into my bin. Maybe not the best place to get rid of it, but I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I would deal with it later, besides I didn't really want my parents finding it and being sucked in as well! And, I was exhausted as hell.

Then I set the box down in one of my drawers; I sure as hell didn't want anyone to find it.

I looked at my clock. It read 6:45am.

Holy crap! I was gone for that long? But it only seemed like half an hour or an hour and a half at most! Ok, who was I kidding? It seemed like forever. From when I sat behind the marble slab, the things I'd seen, and heard, they stayed stuck in my mind, time seemed to be non-existent. For that moment, it was only me and what my five senses could well, sense.

I heard the screams and cries of the Moroi, the sounds of them using their new and special but dangerous powers. I saw the Moroi losing to the Strigoi; blood spilled not knowing who it had come from, because there was just too much, and bodies everywhere. I felt the elements from the Moroi's powers, but I mostly felt the heat from the fire that engulfed most of the room. Then I tasted well… I didn't really taste anything, but my dry mouth. The heat had really worn me out and made me dehydrated. I smelt the sickening stench of blood, it's a smell that's difficult to describe, but it gives you a feeling of puking and it just doesn't smell… _right_. I mean, well the blood wasn't actually human blood, so maybe it had a smell of its own. But still, the blood was spilled through murder, and that gave it a stench that seemed… well… I don't know. The smell was just so distinct that you'd never forget it.

I got myself out of my memory and knew that I had to get ready for school, no matter how much I wanted to stay in bed and sleep, forever. And forget what I had witnessed.

You could call me crazy now, if you haven't already, but what else could I do? Chuck a sickie? What would be my excuse? That I was sucked into a strange book given to me by a psychotic girl that I knew for less than a day, and had suffered from a crap load of emotional and possibly psychological distress?

I didn't see that happening. People would ask questions. And I did _not_ want to answer them.

I looked at myself in the large mirror attached to my bedside table. I was myself again. And my face was wet… and now kinda sticky with tears… the memories had brought them on, I realised. So I grabbed some tissues, wiped my eyes and face dry and blew my nose. Ick. Stuffy noses are hell.

After I got dressed and packed my bag, I was struggling not to think about the events that happened when I got sucked in, while eating my Crunchy Nut Cereal. Boy, I wondered if it would make me even nuttier than I already was.

I was definitely not looking forward to the day ahead of me.

I got on the bus and sat by myself. Judy wasn't on the bus today. There was no-one to talk to. And nothing to think about in particular, well I tried not to. I wanted to clear my mind. I stared blankly out the window.

"Hey Denise." That voice. That voice that had made my heart giddy didn't do it for me today. I was too engrossed in what had happened. Ah crap, I was thinking about it again.

I sent a smile his way, that didn't really feel real, but I tried very hard to look happy, or at least content. After all, Matt was sending his own really cute and joyful, somewhat flirty smile my way. I set my bag down next to me on purpose so that he couldn't sit next to me. It might've hurt him, but I knew it hurt me. Ok who was I kidding? I only knew the guy for a short time, why would it hurt him?

I sighed. Thinking about how my life was so messed up… and how my love life was _still _messed up.

Did I believe what I had witnessed was real?

Yes.

Did I believe what Rose had said?

Yes.

Did I believe that I was the last Ancient?

I didn't want to, but… yes.

I mean, I must be if I could read those weird markings that I only saw for the first time yesterday.

Ok, so I wasn't actually… _human_... this would take some getting used to.

Could I talk to my family about it?

Hell no!

Could I talk to my friends about it?

They'd think that I _was _actually crazy.

Could I talk to Rose about it?

Yes.

Ok, so I could talk to Rose, after all I had her number… but… I really didn't want to get sucked into this whole thing. I wanted my normal life back. I didn't want to be an Ancient. I never asked for this!

"Hey Denise… are you feeling ok?" The concern in his voice, that wasn't mocking, made my heart leap for joy. Ok maybe not, but it did make me feel slightly happier than I did when I was complaining about my life in my mind. I mean come on, if he was concerned about me, it had to mean something… if you get what I mean, _wink wink_.

"Oh...yeah…err…. I like wood." What. The. Hell? I LIKE WOOD? What kind of a response is that?!? I really had lost it. He tried to not laugh, but failed and it came out as a strange kinda snort. Now _I_ laughed.

"I like wood too. In fact, my dad builds wooden furniture." He didn't sound angry at me laughing well _at _him, to my relief, but had a smile in his voice.

"Really?" I looked behind me, because has voice sounded from that direction, but was shocked and surprised to see that he really _was_ behind me, leaning forward on the back of my seat.

Oh snap. Our faces were close. I mean, how could they not be, when he was leaning on my seat with his head resting on his folded arms and I had just turned around to face him? Ha, 'face him', literally.

Then I did something that I thought never possible.

No, I did not kiss him. Jeesh.

I froze.

Matt smiled, obviously knowing how close our faces were and probably sensing that I was _dead _nervous. His smile was cheeky and his eyes gleamed mischief. Oh brother…

"I could tell you more about my dad…. If I sat next to you," His voice sounded kinda suggestive, in a way that his message was for my ears only, and gee it sounded flirty. I had a feeling that he wasn't really going to talk about his dad.

I tried not to blush. I had _never_, I repeat,_ never,_ been in a situation like this before where a guy seemed actually interested in you and wanted to well… sit next to you. I wanted to run away, not that I didn't like Matt, but because of how nervous I was, and for some reason, how shy I get towards cute guys. Damn their cuteness. But bless it as well.

This cute guy in particular, made me feel… all sorts of emotions. Maybe he could cheer me up. Keeping that in mind, I murmured a soft 'Ok', hoping that he didn't go onto the topic of how he wanted to hook up or whatever, not that I wouldn't like that, but that I wasn't ready yet. I also didn't want to write him off as one of 'those guys'. You know… the ones that woo girls to get what they want... that rush the girl into things they might not want to do… and then leave...

I lifted my bag, put it on my lap and he sat next to me. It was obviously not the first time he did, but it felt like it, well I felt like it. I felt awkward and shy, like the first time we'd met.

"So… anyway about my dad," He started. Wait, he was _actually_ going to talk about his dad? Matt seemed to be full of surprises. Hehe, now I knew that he _was_ different. And I definitely liked that about him.

So he talked about his dad, who really was an interesting man… then somehow, our conversation changed to Stargate SG-1 and Star Trek, which really surprised me. I was getting to like Matt more and more. I mean come on; I'd rather a Spock than a Jock any day. And Stargate SG-1, for some odd reason, seemed kinda unknown to people of my generation, sadly, and so learning that it was one of his favourite shows when he was younger, _really_ made me like him.

If he liked Marvel, Pokemon and the show Supernatural as well, yikes, I don't know what would've happened to my hormones.

Oh and if he liked to read, oh gee, I'd be in love.

Ha-ha so it's official, I'm a dork/geek. And I guess he could be a dork/geek too… whatever a dork/geek is.

Sadly, before I could ask him if he liked those wonderful things, he had to get off at his stop.

"Live long and prosper." He said to me as he stood up from the seat. I replied by doing the hand sign thing Spock does, and he did as well. The last thing I saw was his adorable smile that just felt… right.

Did he cheer me up?

He sure did, boy oh boy, he did.

I got to school and was greeted by my friends and the day was going well… until Textiles class.

I was sewing one of my assignments, to make a bag, and I pricked my finger with the needle by accident… _the _finger, the one that got cut by the sharp points in the pentagon in the five-pointed star in the book. The wound started to bleed again.

Then I felt really weird.

The sight of blood, even my own, made my head spin.

Then I remembered everything I had tried to keep out of my mind the entire day.

The bloodcurdling cries of pain, the fire, the dying, the Ancients… Flora and Jasper… me almost losing my life…

I started shaking. I couldn't control it. The fear that I felt when the memories came back to me took over my body.

I guess Matt's little 'pick-me-up' effect, was only temporary.

My Textiles teacher noticed and was worried, but I told her that I was only cold… even though it was 30 degrees that day. She still looked worried but went on with her work, pretending to believe me. I didn't want to go to the sick bay… if I did… the memories would probably taunt me…

I'd be alone in the sick bay room and no way would I want to be left alone.

The mood Matt had left me was definitely gone now. The sight of my own blood had brought back the vision of the blood of so many others.

The next classes after Textiles went by in a blur. I may have started crying, as my teachers kept staring at me, not really knowing what to do or say, but I wasn't sure because I was too engrossed in my memories. It truly did shock me to my inner organs. If you get what I mean.

Sleep _did _pull on me though, a couple of times, and in those short moments that it did, I felt relieved. In those moments between consciousness and unconsciousness, I could forget about everything and just be focused on well, trying to stay awake. I didn't want to get in trouble for falling asleep in class. Hell no, did I need a bad comment on my school report, to top the crappiness in my life off.

Then lunch came. My friends didn't really know what to do either, and I felt many eyes on me, as I wasn't talking or really doing anything else, but sitting on the ground, staring at one spot on the floor and barely blinking.

"Denise! Denise!" I finally looked up at that perky voice, as she seemed completely opposite of how I was feeling.

"Hi Kimmy," My voice sounded flat and cold, but I didn't mean it to come out that way. She cleared her throat and continued.

"I've come to cheer you up!" Oh great.

"Did my friends send you? Not that you're not my friend, but like, my group?" She looked at me blankly.

"I mean, did they-" I nodded over to my group of friends sitting to the right of me, "-send you?" I continued.

"Hmm… well I don't want to lie to you Denise. So yeah, they sent me." She gave me a huge hyper smile that made me wonder how she could stretch her face so far. She just looked _so_ happy.

"I'm sorry but whatever you plan on doing, you can't cheer me up."

"Really?" She suddenly took my hand and pulled me up to my feet. And bear hugged me… I heard my supposed group of friends laughing at us.

"Um… Kimmy?"

"Mmhmm?" She asked as she was crushing my ribs.

"How is this supposed to make me happy?"

"Well hugs always cheer people up!"

"I beg to differ."

"Well then, since I'm hugging you so tight, wouldn't you be happy if I let go?" Hmm… Touché.

"Yes. Now please let go." She willingly let go and stepped back to look at me.

"Feel happier now that you can breathe?" I couldn't help but laugh, kind of painfully, at her question.

"Yes… now. Please don't hug me anymore."

"I don't believe you. You don't look 100% happy to me yet missy." She put her hands on her hips, trying to look bossy. But to me, it just didn't work; she was too cute to ever look like Ms Trunchbull or some other crazy mad woman.

My supposed group of friends had now continued with their munching and little 'convos', but I could still feel their eyes on Kimmy and me. I decided to ignore them and try and get away from Kimmy first.

"Then what?" I was panting. Seriously. That hug took too much out of me.

"I like ice-cream." She beamed at me.

"Yeah… me too. Ok, bye now." I kinda fake smiled to her and tried to walk away but she grabbed my right hand and pulled me back.

"We're going to the canteen and I am treating you to an ice-cream."

"Ok… why?"

"Because ice-cream always makes me happy." Honestly, her happiness was _really_ bugging me. Did she have ice-cream _everyday_?

"And Jensen Ackles makes me happy, ok, I really need to go." I tried to shake her grip off but she still held on tightly. Jeesh, I didn't know Kimmy was so strong.

She practically dragged me to the canteen line. I started to wonder if she ever considered working as some kind of Westfield security guard, or perhaps a wrestler on WWE. She still had a hold on my right hand as we waited.

"What flavour do you want?"

"Seriously Kimmy, _please_ let me go."

"Nup, not until you tell me what flavour you want." Ok, she was so happy that it seemed like someone put some kind of drug in her, and she was stubborn. This wasn't going to be easy.

"I want the flavour of freedom." I tugged her arm with mine, trying to break my hand free from hers.

"Hmmm… I don't think our canteen has that flavour."

"But I would like to taste the wonderful taste of freedom. Please let me taste it."

"No. How about Strawberry flavoured ice-cream?" Ok, it looked like this was going nowhere… So I eventually gave in.

"I like chocolate."

"Then chocolate it is." She smiled at her victory. I sighed.

She got me a chocolate Paddlepop and herself a caramel one and we started walking out of the canteen.

"Thanks Kimmy." I opened the ice-cream and began eating away. Damn it. She was right. Ice-cream did cheer you up. Kind of.

"Feel better now?" She pushed my shoulder lightly.

"Ha-ha, yeah. Thanks." Ok, now I had the _best_ way to get back at her.

_I_ bear hugged _her_.

"Ok, ok Denise. I won't do this to you ever again."

"No, no, I just don't want you to hold me against my will again. _Treating_ me to an ice-cream however, feel free to do it _anytime_! I'm broke!" Ok, I wasn't really broke, but I practically never brought money to school. I let go of her and she laughed.

I changed my mind. It was nice to see someone so joyful, in a world that seemed so dark. Well, my world anyway… I believed Strigoi were real now… well, they _had _to be. That book showed me something that was just too real to not be real…

"Thanks again. I'll see you later okay?" My supposed friends' plan really worked. Kimmy _had _cheered me up.

"Okay!" She smiled and walked off with her caramel Paddlepop back to her group of friends.

Chocolate ice-cream _really _was my favourite. Chocolate seemed to always cheer me up in tough times, and really, I didn't care what it did to my thighs, almost. Besides, it's been proven that Chocolate has chemicals in it that give you endorphins or something along the lines of that and that's good enough for me!

Who needs men when you have chocolate?

Um, exclude Matt from this uh… quote…

I need chocolate _and _Matt.

And that's 'My Heaven'.

And I wished I had it right now.

But the chocolate ice-cream would do it for the time being.

"Hey!" Polina smiled at me. She really was an awesome friend that I felt lucky to have. "How are you?"

"Oh, hi Mrs Fuller," I gave her a nice smile. Polina had an adorable crush on Drew Fuller, an actor, and so I liked calling her by her future last name. I took a bite out of my Paddlepop.

"I'm good. You?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Then I realised something. If anyone at school, like a friend, Polina would be the best person to talk to about my strange experience brought on by the book. Polina was much into the whole 'supernatural' thing with witchcraft, palm reading and etc. which I truly admired about her. It made her different from the crowd. Plus, we often had the same tastes in books and TV shows, which made our conversations very interesting. Charmed FTW!

"Oh oh, Polina, I have something very important to ask you, but… we need to go somewhere more private."

"Alright… um, how about the Drama Shed?"

"Yeah ok, if no-one's in there."

The good old Drama shed. It was a nice place that we both knew we would be learning Drama in the next year, so we had to become familiar with it. As we walked towards it, I finished my Paddlepop ice-cream and threw the wrapper and etc. into the bin. The Drama shed was sometimes used for co-curricular activities at lunch time, so we crossed our fingers that it was empty.

We got there. And it was, _phew._

We went in and closed the door behind us. Hopefully we wouldn't get in trouble by a teacher if this was out of bounds or whatever, I didn't really know.

"Ok." I tried to calm myself down. She giggled.

"What is it? It probably has to be very important if you wanted to be somewhere private."

"Yeah ok… well…" I didn't really know how to start off.

"Yeah? It's ok, you can trust me." And I knew I could.

"Ok…" I inhaled a deep breath. I finally knew what I had to ask about.

"Is it something... supernatural?" She asked.

"Yes." I answered. She looked at me, studying me; I could see the cogs working in her head, figuratively speaking of course.

"Is it something that I would know about?"

"Well I'm hoping so… have you ever heard of someone being sucked into an old book?"

"Well there _is_ Harry Potter with the whole thing with Tom Riddle's diary-"

"No. I mean in real life. Have you ever heard stories of it?" I _had _to know if this had happened to anyone before.

"Hmm…"

"And the book isn't really just old, it's probably ancient." I didn't want to reveal too much to her. Heck, the book almost cost me my life, I didn't want to bring Polina too much into this, risking her life as well.

"No, I haven't seen real accounts of this. Is it witchcraft?"

"I don't know. I think it's some kind of really ancient magic." Well duh, this much, I knew.

"Well, I'm not really very acquainted with old magic, but I think I know where to look into it for you."

"Really? Oh God, thankyou Polina!" I threw my arms around her. I wanted to know as much as I could about this book. How the hell it could possess such powerful magic and how the hell I could try and sort my crappy life out. She giggled again.

"No problem." We started to walk towards the door of the Drama shed, when I turned back to her when a sudden thought hit me.

"Um, one more thing. Polina, do you believe in vampires?" She stared at me, and smiled slowly.

With fangs.

My eyes went wide. Polina was a vampire? But how could sh-

She laughed loudly and flung her head back.

Tingles went up and down my spine, and I knew, without looking, that my goose bumps had chosen this exact moment, to pop out.

It wasn't her laugh.

It wasn't her voice.

It was Flora's.

* * *

**And to Julie who knows Huang Xiaoming's age... if he were to be in this, i'd probably make him younger. :L**

**Oh gosh. Now i'm making him sound like an old man. .**

**Which he ISN'T! :L**

**I hope you enjoyed this chappy. :)**

**Please review, otherwise i don't know if anyone reads this besides like... 3 people. :O**

**P.S. Do Caramel Paddlepops exist?**

**LOL**


	7. The Letter

**Hey guys! OMG how long has it been since i updated? o.o.o.o**

**I'm so sorry! I think it's been a month!**

**Well i hope this 'long-ish' chapter is worth it... ^^**

**Honestly, i think it's a bit weird... but bear with me, it's just to get the story moving along... i promise it will get more exciting later. ;)**

**And REMEMBER, i'm still a girl that's learning how to write. ^^**

**So don't be too critical. :L  
But i LOVE constructive criticism!**

**So... SOCK IT TO ME BROTHER!**

**I don't know where that came from. That either came from a movie... or... i misheard it. I think i most likely misheard it.**

**TEEHEE**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

No. It couldn't be. Not today. _Please _not today.

"Who are you? What did you do to Polina?" I shouted at her, my voice breaking a bit. So much for 'acting tough'… I sounded like Justin Bieber.

"Why… Polina is safe, with her other friends, dining." She smirked at me. "You know who I am." She was right. I _did _know who she was. How could I ever forget after what happened? Those memories would probably haunt me for life.

"How did you get here?" Who used the word _dining _anymore?

"You think I'm going to tell you?" She laughed mockingly at me. "You foolish girl."

"Well, what do you want from me?" How the hell did she even find me? It was also so weird to hear her voice coming from Polina's mouth.

"I want to know about _you. Who _are _you_? Why were you at the meeting? How did you change form to impersonate my right-hand?" Her eyes were full of rage.

"Your _right-hand_? How can _anyone _change into a _limb_?" Ok, I really actually knew what she mean by 'right-hand', but I couldn't help but be a little 'smart-ass'. I guess it was one of the ways for me to not show how much she scared the hell out of me. By right hand, she must've meant her partner or assistant to something, someone she could trust. The rest however, didn't sink in yet.

"You idiot! What do they teach you now in school? Has the education system lost their _own _intelligence over the centuries?" She paused, and sucked in her breath. She had revealed too much, even though I didn't really understand, but she did, and her cheeks flushed a light pink.

"Just tell me mortal. Who... _what _are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." And honestly, I didn't. My head was full of enough crazy... did I need more?

One second, she was standing more than a metre away from me. The next, I blinked once, and she had me against the wall of the Drama Shed, holding my neck with one hand. I couldn't help but make those 'choking noises' that you see in movies all the time, her grip was tight.

"You're going to tell me, or I will do something worse than killing you." Her grip tightened around my neck and then her face and body started to change shape. She looked like her evil self now… her red hair, impossible to forget.

"F-fine." I gasped. She let go. I was dancing with the Devil right now. I swear, I don't know how my life got so... so... confuzzled.

I sucked in as much air as I could; I was pretty much suffocating under her grasp before she let go. I was bended at the waist, trying to get my breathing back to normal. I looked up at her.

"What do you want?" I stood back up, probably stiff as a board with fear. She snorted.

"Who are you Witch?" She met my eyes with a strong intensity. I could tell that she took this very seriously.

"I'm not a witch." I tried to sound convincing, but I _was _telling the truth anyway so… I just hoped that my voice would obey me.

"How can you not be a witch? Thanks to you possessing Zandicus, he thinks that I betrayed him!"

"Wait, what?"

"I was going to kill _you._ Then you must have left his body, without me knowing. Zandicus thought that I was trying to kill _him_!" She narrowed her eyes at me. "You know what I'm talking about. You can't lie to me."

Now, I _did _know what she was talking about, but no way, was I going to tell her anything... even if that meant some kind of torture or death.

Wait, what was it that Rose said could kill a Strigoi? Ok, first, was a stake to the heart.

My eyes scanned the Drama Shed quickly, and even though it was pretty wrecked, there were no wooden sharp objects around. As if the Drama shed would have stakes... Jeesh. I mentally slapped myself on the forehead.

Ok, so staking her wasn't an option... but how would I even pull it off anyway? Ok what else could kill her? Um... oh right, burning her would work. But as if I could conjure up fire out of thin air, and I specialised in Spirit anyway, not fire. Wait... could Spirit hurt her? I didn't even know how to control my powers yet so... ok, that option was out too.

The last one was decapitating her. Ok, even though I'm not really scared by gory movies and whatnot, no way would I have the guts to cut her head off…

Besides, what could I use?

"-and you have to tell me now, or I _will _kill them. No excuses." Ok. What? Flora was talking the whole time... while I was spaced out thinking. Great.

"Um, ok." I didn't know why I said 'ok' or what I said 'ok' _to_. Ha-ha... Double great.

"Denise, tell me or you shall suffer the consequences."

"Wait, how do you know my name?"

"I've been calling you Denise the whole time. Did you not hear me? Or... do you not even know your own name?" She flung her head back and laughed mockingly at me. Her laugh made me feel... tiny. Like she towered over me with her evil laughter... while I just shrank... smaller and smaller... into a little corner of the room...

What the hell was I doing? If anything, _this_ was my chance. With her laughing, and in other words _distracted_, I could make my move to escape _now_.

But was I smart enough to do so? Ha-ha. No.

Would I be fast enough to do so anyway? No.

I'd need to have the capability to do so, and I was no Jackie Chan.

The facts all pointed at one direction.

Flora had stopped laughing and stared me down again... making me shrink even further... if that was possible. It was like I was a snail slithering back into its shell.

I couldn't escape now. I had no more choices left.

"I know your name from when you told me in the meeting you fool, but enough with this idiotic nonsense. Tell me who you are." She stared at me even more intensely now, like she was trying to look into my soul. She then pulled back, a look of shock crossing over her face.

"Compulsion does not work on you. _What _are you?" She said it with disgust this time, really not sure what I was. I just hoped she wouldn't guess it.

"There's only one creature that does not succumb to compulsion and I'm sure that you're not one of them. It's not possible." She paused, and looked at me again, analysing me. Her eyes widened again, but this time, in realisation.

"But what if-"

There was a knock on the door.

"Hello? We need the Drama Shed for our Christian Group meeting." It was a girl's voice.

Flora was by my side in an instant again. Her hand covered my mouth. My instinct was to scream, and I did. She clamped her hand over my mouth tighter.

"Hello?" The voice said again.

Flora didn't make any noise, but stared at the door, anticipating when it would open.

There was the sound of keys entering the lock.

"I'll be back for you." Flora whispered into my ear before she... she... disappeared? My eyes widened like 'Puss in Boots' in 'Shrek' except I was more freaked out of my mind than well 'trying to act cute'.

How the HELL did she do that?

Her body just 'poofed', ok that sounds bad, but she just was gone in an instant into thin air. No part of her, well nothing could indicate that she was even here it all. Great.

I was only being partly sarcastic by the way.

The door opened, and I was standing in the Drama shed, alone now, thanks to Flora's freaky unexplained disappearance, looking like a freakin' loner-weirdo-psycho-crazy-retard.

"Um... I left something in here and came back to get it... then the door closed on me and locked itself... I couldn't get out." Ok, probably the most bogus excuse ever... but, thanks to my Drama skills, the girl from the Christian Group actually believed me.

"Oh ok. Did you find it?" The girl was probably in Year 10 and her sincere concern made me feel slightly more comfortable compared to how I'd just been feeling before.

"Yeah. Thanks for freeing me from this shed." I walked toward the door and smiled at her. She smiled back and I let her walk past into the shed. The rest of the Christian Group went in.

So what now?

I had to call Rose.

It was my only and probably wisest choice left.

I needed help.

But if I called her, I knew there was no going back. Well, I guess it would be better moving forward than to be killed by a psycho Strigoi now wouldn't it? I made up my mind. I'd call her when I got home.

Throughout the rest of the day, I tried to act normal, acting like my typical self, talking to my friends about random things like how gorgeous Ben Barnes AKA Prince Caspian was… while my friend Bonnie raved on about Edward Cullen…

Eventually, it was time to board the bus again. If anything, it was something I was looking forward to, for obvious reasons, but for some strange reason, I was also dreading.

Sure, Matt could make me feel better, but if he could tell how I _really _felt, he would ask questions.

I boarded the bus. He wasn't there. I had a sigh of relief.

Judy wasn't on the bus today either because she had to go to an orthodontist appointment. So I was alone, not considering the other random passengers on the bus. Yet, I didn't feel lonely; I actually thought it was better to be alone anyway.

I took out my iPod and searched for the song that could make me feel a bit better.

'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey lit up my iPod's small screen. I took a deep breath in and out, letting the song fill me and let myself relax. If anything, this song was a major pick-me-up, it made everything seem so much better somehow, it was just so hopeful.

Soon enough, I got off at my stop and started walking home.

Then I saw him.

A man, dressed in green was walking towards me from behind. It was probably nothing, but reason told me better. I tried to see his eyes. He was wearing black sunglasses. Damn it. He was quite big, not muscular, but big.

You could also call me paranoid, but I knew better. I started to pick up my pace a bit and I could hear his steps start to quicken. I eventually picked up into a run; I could hear him do the same.

I was pretty panicky now, trying not to look back at him because I knew it would slow me down. I just had to get back home. I was running for my life.

He was shouting something, but I wasn't sure what. My mind seemed to be whirring around in overdrive, panicking, not sure what to do next… my only thought being: 'run'.

I finally reached my house and fiddled for my keys, I know, certainly _not _the best time to fiddle with them, but they were in my dress's pocket, along with other things. I finally got them out and tried to put them into the key hole. I was literally shaking with fear now, and oddly _missing _the key hole.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder then. I didn't want to turn around.

Then reason came back to me and I realised… if they were meaning harm to me… they wouldn't _just _tap me on the shoulder… so I turned around.

"You dropped this." My stalker/pedo had said. He gave me my iPod.

I felt like the biggest fool ever.

Besides, if he was Strigoi... it would be unlikely for him to attack me in daylight... you know, with the sun and all.

But at least, I was safe.

Thank God he saw that I had dropped it. I guess I must've been too consumed in my thoughts when I got off the bus to notice that I had dropped it. Now, I would have _really _died if I lost my iPod.

"Thanks." I said. He started walking away, muttering to himself 'Why are you so kind? You could've left it there! Better yet, kept it! Jeesh, I didn't need that exercise!'

I chuckled to myself nervously.

_That _was awkward.

I got into my house and locked the doors. I was finally home. It felt like such a long day, possibly the longest day of the year, theoretically.

I relaxed and went into the dining room. I fixed myself a tuna, lettuce and mayo sandwich, then sat down and began eating. I let the food calm my nerves.

Then my brain started to work again, if it ever did work. I stopped eating, mid-sandwich and bolted for my bedroom upstairs. I opened my bin, and thank God, the book was still there. I wasn't exactly scared that it wouldn't be there because of my parents throwing out my bin or something, but I was oddly afraid that the book had actually crawled out itself… and run away. I threw out my bin myself anyway.

I sat on my bed to read the book. I opened the book to the page that had brought me into the past. It scared me, but I had to look at it again. The ten words that were around the page, this time, started to change into English. I gasped as I read the words that encircled the page. 'See The Truth and Find Your Answers Only through Blood', the words said around the page in a clockwise direction. It sounded eerie, but I guess it kind of made sense. I mean, I _did _get blood into that star thing and _then _the page opened up taking me into the past.

I couldn't believe I actually threw the book into the bin. I was stupid as hell. Like always.

I started flipping through the pages, looking for something else, not exactly sure what. Then I kind of well, I don't know why, but I started shaking the book, out of frustration… I guess. I hoped some kind of answer would fall out of the book.

And it did.

A letter had fallen out onto my lap. I screamed, in a very girly way. Jeesh.

I wasn't sure to open it, but I eventually did, thinking that well, 'I've come this far, I should go all the way'.

The letter actually didn't look _too old,_ it didn't seem to have been placed into the book centuries ago. I opened it and took out the brown paper that was inside. I gasped as I read it:

_Dear Child,__If you are reading this letter, do not be afraid,  
I no longer walk amongst you, so you can not seek my aid.  
__The road ahead of you will twist and turn,  
__Many things you will see, many things you will learn.  
__Beware of dark forces who work at fast pace,  
__Succeed in your quest so my sacrifice will not be a waste.  
__Your powers will be wild, you must learn to control,  
__To do that with ease, you must look to your soul.  
__Your complicated creation, you must wonder how,  
__Too complicated to explain, so let me show you now._

Ok, so it was clear that this was from my... father. But, if he was gone, how could he show me?

That question was soon answered when I felt like a gust of wind had knocked me flat on my back on my bed. My eyes had suddenly felt heavy, so I closed them.

* * *

I opened my eyes, sitting up, gasping for air. I knew more of the truth.

I couldn't believe it. I just had a vision like Phoebe from 'Charmed'.

I looked back to the letter, to check if he had written anymore. Then I looked on the other side of the paper, and making me feel all giddy, there _was _more writing.

_Though I am gone, I yet still exist,  
__I watch over you from the blue sky mist.  
__My faith is in you Child, you will succeed,  
__And you will be rewarded for your good deed._

_Your Father, Zandicus._

"But… no good deed goes unpunished…" I joked to myself. Ok, so there was no doubt, I was still very freaked out right now, so why not joke like a crazy woman to myself?

At least I knew what I had to do.

I searched for my phone, went to my phonebook and dialled the number I needed.

Damn, I really needed to put the number on speed dial. I mentally slapped myself on the forehead... again.

* * *

**So... how was it? Let me know in a REVIEW!**

**:D**

**I've already planned this whole fanfic (BOOYAH!), so all i have to do know is well... write/type everything... so... i'll most likely update more in the holidays...**

**ONE MORE WEEK OF SCHOOL.**

**Woot.**


	8. Midnight

**And at last... I've finally updated this story.**

**As always, I'm sorry for the delay... and the funny thing is though... that I wrote this MONTHS ago but never got around to editing it and publishing it. :S**

**To be honest... I reckon this chapter is kind of 'meh...' but it introduces characters and shiz so it's still sort of important.  
I hope y'all will like my spin on Adrian. ;)**

**And I hope that despite some weird bits that I don't know how to fix... you'll enjoy it. :)**

**HAPPY READING! xx  
**

**DISCLAIMER: The 'Vampire Academy' world belongs to Richelle Mead. This is just my made-up world crossed with hers. **

**-Deni**

* * *

She picked up on the third ring.

"Rose Hathaway here… I'm a bit busy right now." I heard sounds of something crashing. Her voice sounded a bit strained, but not tired.

"Rose, it's Denise..." I said nervously as I tried to figure out what was happening over there.

"Oh! What's wrong? I thought you'd never call." She immediately softened her tone, and sounded more approachable, but still strained. I then heard a man scream with agony. There was a kind of static noise coming through the speaker. Was she breathing hard?

"Rose! What's happening?"

"I'm just fighting some Strigoi." She said with a casual tone that made me almost fall back onto my bed with shock.

"Then um... um... should I hang up?"

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm almost done." I heard another scream, this time from a woman, "Alright, I'm done."

I fell onto my bed, unable to say another word.

"Denise? Are you still there?" She sounded more concerned than when she was practically risking her life with Strigoi. I realised that I couldn't really expect anything less from Rose, since I'd seen her take down the first Strigoi that had attacked me the night we met with incredible ease. She was a God. Slowly, my mouth started to move again.

"Oh! Yeah... sorry. Um, we need to meet."

"Good. Midnight? I'll pick you up."

"Alright... see you then." I hanged up, my mind spinning.

_Midnight? _I wasn't worried because I'd be tired, quite the opposite considering that I was pretty much nocturnal but... my parents were also up at that time. This wasn't good. How would I sneak out?

It was only 4:45pm right now, so I had time to well... prepare. I also had dancing classes in an hour, which I guess could get my mind off other things and let myself relax a bit. However, it wasn't time for relaxing right _now _though.

I grabbed a black backpack from my cupboard and put the Ancient Book and letter into it. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself, wondering what the heck I was supposed to do next. I looked around my room, looking for something I might've needed. My eyes rested on a drawer beneath my dressing table.

I realised that I had completely forgotten about the box I took from my 'trip to the past'.

I opened the drawer, taking the smooth white marble box out. It was absolutely surreal. The beauty of the box told me that it definitely must've held something very precious... too bad that the box was already empty when I found it though. Someone already had whatever treasure that was kept inside.

I opened the box, remembering that I had seen those Ancient markings again, underneath the lid. I turned the lid over again and as I had recalled, they were there. They were smaller this time though, organised in a sort of paragraph. Then I realised that these Ancient markings reminded me a bit of hieroglyphics, except they weren't really pictures, more like squiggly but black beautiful lines, joined in all sorts of geometrical shapes you could ever imagine.

I focused on the markings, as I had done before, with the book and my Father's letter. As they had done before, the markings started moving and changing into the Roman alphabet, English. I guess I was getting kind of used to reading Ancient markings now, and the reality of that, made me feel scared, yet... glad. Glad because... it meant that everything Rose had told me was true, and the only positive to that is well, that I now had a chance to save the world, and these kind of chances, were very rare to find. I didn't _find _this chance though, really, it found me. I now had a greater purpose in life.

Even though I had the chance to save the world, I guess I also had the potential to destroy it. My Father had written that I needed to control my powers, so that meant that I _definitely _had powers now that I didn't even know of. 'With great power, came great responsibility', a quote from 'Spiderman', but it was very true. I finally understood the real truth of that quote right now. However, I was no superhero and never would be... so... how was I going to do this?

I took a deep breath and read the markings on the beautiful lid of the box.

"_The Mactabilis Mucro is blunt but can penetrate an Ancient like a sharpened sword. In a situation where an Ancient could be overcome with power and become destructive, is where it should be implemented."_

I did a double take. Mactabilis Mucro? What was that? I guess it didn't _all _translate to English.

The cogs in my brain started turning and trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Then I remembered.

It was the beautiful dagger that Flora had held in her hands when I went back in time. She had told me that it was blunt but was the only thing able to penetrate an Ancient's skin, and kill them.

That dagger must've been called 'Mactabilis Mucro' by the Ancients. What language was that? I remembered that Flora had also called it the 'Ancient Golden Dagger', which seemed more fitting, but probably wasn't the proper name. I figured that Flora must've made the name up, seeing as how she seemed a bit cocky, I guess it was expected.

I decided to call the dagger 'Mucro' for short. It was easier to remember anyway. I'd have to ask Rose about the words not translating into English though, than normal, because 'Mactabilis Mucro' was still engraved into the box in the Ancient markings.

Then I realised that Flora still had the Mucro in her possession.

I was doomed…

_No, Rose would help me. We'd figure this out together, with the help of whoever was on her… I mean_, our_ side. _I needed to stay optimistic.

I looked back at the box, seeing more markings.

"_The Mactabilis Mucro is to be kept in the Arca Archa to regain energy. If left out of the Arca Archa for a long period of time, the Mactabilis Mucro will no longer have strength, being unable to be used until once again placed back in the Arca Archa."_

Arca Archa? Ok, more words that weren't in English. This information still helped me though. Whatever this Arca Archa was, it was important for the Mucro and needed it to still work, to still be able to kill Ancients. I needed to find this Arca Archa.

I closed the box and put it gently into my black backpack. Everything was ready. I was good to go.

Dancing class had been a good distraction, just as I'd hoped. My parents had come home and we had already had dinner. I did all my homework earlier, for once, and was sitting on my bed, wide-eyed, really wondering what would happen at midnight. I still didn't really know how I was going to sneak out.

I looked around my room. It was sadly, pretty small, and cramped with big furniture from my old bigger room from a previous home. I was sure that I had packed everything that I needed for my meeting with Rose, so I was sure that I didn't need anything else. I scanned my room again, just in case. I grabbed my phone and hastily looked at my clock.

It was a few minutes to midnight.

I didn't realise how long I'd been sitting on my bed, contemplating what I was going to do. But luckily for once, my daydreaming payed off, as I had a plan for my midnight escape… well sort of.

I opened my bedroom door, careful not to make it creak. Seeming as though my door knew my intentions, it creaked, making me try very hard to suppress a groan. The lights were off, my parents and brother were sleeping. It was time.

I closed my bedroom door and went to my balcony door. I recalled how Rose had jumped off my balcony, the first time we'd met… I however was not confident enough to do the same. I slung my backpack around my shoulders and carefully opened my balcony door, getting smacked in the face with a cold gust of wind by doing so. I closed the door, turned around and gulped. Sure, it wasn't that high, but boy, was I scared poopless. I held onto the railing of the balcony, trying to get a firm grip, and swung my legs over. I was now on the other side of the railing, vulnerable… able to fall and break my skull. I gulped again. I slowly and cautiously let myself slide down the railing holding on with my hands, letting my legs dangle in the air.

I looked down – my feet were about half a metre from the ground. Closing my eyes tightly, I let go of the railing and landed on bent legs onto the ground. For a moment, I felt a sense of pride, like I was Amelia from 'Underworld', jumping from a tall building… even though it was just my 2 and a half metre high balcony.

I was wearing a black t-shirt that said 'I kissed a vampire, and I liked it!' that was silly, but I thought suited the occasion, and jeans and a navy hoodie on top with awesome white and blue sneakers. It was a cold night, making me feel another little bit of pride for listening to my Mum's constant reminders of wearing something warm when it was cold.

I started to walk, turning the corner, when I saw a car approaching. I held my breath as it stopped in front of me. The window rolled down, revealing the one and only, Rose Hathaway.

"Thanks for calling." She smiled warmly at me. Her smile was interesting, and I figured at another time in her life, boys would go crazy for that smile.

"Thanks for coming." I smiled back, opening the door to the back seats. To my surprise, there was a skinny and pale blonde haired girl and a brown-ish blonde haired guy sitting there as well. The girl had a pale green colour to her eyes while the guy's were more of an emerald colour. There was something about them that I felt was alluring, strange, but true.

"Little dhampir, so this is the-" the guy stopped as he finally looked at me. He looked around his mid twenties, wore an expensive looking grey suit that fit him well and boy oh boy was he cute. Totally 'Crush-worthy' material but Date worthy? I'd get in trouble with an age gap like that. Besides, there was always Matt.

"Look at her aura." The blonde haired girl said very curiously. I wasn't sure to sit down or not. I hesitated for a few more seconds but eventually sat down in the middle of the two back seats since it seemed like neither of them wanted to shuffle over. What she had said eventually registered in my head. What the heck was an aura?

"It's absolutely golden...Not just a tinge with other colours like ours, but completely golden." The boy studied me, as Rose began to drive out.

"Denise, this is Adrian Ivashkov, a cocky Moroi that's a partygoer, smoker and drinker." Rose cleared up for me. I guess this guy fit his appearance well, with that sort of lifestyle, no wonder he looked so fancy and 'upper-class'.

"Little dhampir, you don't give me much credit," He pouted at Rose but then looked back at me, smiling, showing his fangs, "Don't worry Denise. I'm sure in time, you will get to know the 'Great Adrian Ivashkov' and become one of my many followers that bask in my presence."

"I see what you mean by cocky." I smiled at Rose as she looked at me from the front mirror of the car. She laughed a little at that which made me smile.

"I'm Vasilisa Dragomir, but you can call me Lissa." The blonde haired girl introduced herself to me, smiling warmly. Lissa…. That name rang a bell. She was Rose's best friend! Rose hadn't told me about Adrian though… so I wondered why. Lissa was wearing a simple light pink t-shirt with a white cardigan and a black skirt with some kick-butt fancy high heeled shoes.

"It's nice to meet you Lissa… um… can I ask you what auras are? How is mine err… _golden_?"

"An aura is like a certain glow around you, that can change colours depending on your mood and can tell you a lot about a person. You can have multiple colours at once in your aura, depending on all the emotion you feel at the time. Spirit users can see auras." Lissa explained in a matter of fact way.

"Lissa and I both have a gold tinge to our auras, with other colours showing our moods, but yours… it's completely golden… with no other colours, meaning that we can't read you or your emotions," Adrian stopped looking at me and looked at Rose with his expression becoming more serious, "Rose, this girl is pretty much, Spirit incarnate."

"Well, I've known that I've been quite enthusiastic when it comes to –"

"– No Denise, you're actually _Spirit _incarnate, and that's pretty wild. Sure we'd done research and everything, about the Ancients, but seeing an actual Ancient right _now, _actual living proof…" He looked back at me, studying me. I started feeling very self-conscious. Lissa giggled.

"What?" I asked very intelligently.

"Sure, we can't read your aura since it's completely golden, but your expression gives your embarrassment away." Lissa smiled warmly at me again, making me feel a bit more at ease.

"Adrian, stop harassing Denise. I already have you harassing me so often-" Rose started but Adrian cut her off.

"– which I intend to keep doing, my little dhampir… Also, how can it be harassment when I know you enjoy it?" He winked at her as she looked at him through the mirror. Rose sighed off her irritation.

Rose kept driving until we ended up in front of a 'Radison' hotel.

"So you've been staying at this hotel?" I asked as Rose parked the car and as we all got out. We talked in hushed voices.

"Yeah, we took a plane here a few weeks ago. St. Vladimirs is in Montana. We thought we'd find you easily… " Rose paused in thought.

"But it took longer than expected." Lissa finished for her.

"Since you're Spirit Incarnate, Lissa and I thought we could probably sense you, because spirit users can sense each other… but we couldn't. So we think you may have some sort of force field or something around you that prevents you from being found." Adrian said with a smile.

"Force field? Whoa, whoa, we're going into the 'sci fi zone' right now. What did you use to find me anyway?" This was all too surreal and moving fast. I just hoped that I could catch up.

He smirked. "Ancients created a kind of tracking compass that pointed to any Ancient near by…Seemed as though even though they were in their own tight knit circle, they didn't trust each other. Like one of them could've gone wild at any second and attack the rest."

"That explains the Mucro!" I shouted with realisation, to which Rose immediately shushed me. I blushed sheepishly.

"Mucro?" Lissa questioned. They probably didn't get to it in their research.

"I'll show you later." I assured her.

"Show?" Lissa's eyes went wide. I nodded.

We walked through the big glass doors of the hotel with a blast of nice and comfortable warmth welcoming us. Some sort of jazzy music was playing. I loved hotels.

"The receptionist's a Moroi." Adrian whispered to me as we walked past the front desk. The receptionist was a woman with red hair who looked tall, skinny and quite pale. If it wasn't for Adrian telling me, I would've never known. I would've thought that her paleness had been due to some sort of lack of sleep, seeing her look as sleepy as she did now.

"Wait, what? How can she be _outside _like this? Won't the humans find out?" I felt so weird saying 'humans' as though like I wasn't one anymore, but it was true.

"Some Moroi and Dhampirs live in the human world by their own choice. This hotel just happens to be a special place for Moroi to stay when they visit. The place is run by Moroi, with feeders on hand living here. But the humans that actually work here as hotel staff aren't really in on it though." Rose explained in a very hushed and low voice.

"Feeders…" They were humans that had willingly let vampires feed on them and had only done so because vampire bites induced an endorphins rush, like a drug. Sure, it sounded _wrong_ in a few ways, but it was still the humans' choice, and the Moroi had only fed on them when needed, not in excessive amounts that would cause death. If the Moroi caused death while feeding, they'd turn Strigoi. Man, I couldn't believe how I remembered all this.

"But, if they aren't in on it, how come no one's find out about the Moroi yet? Better yet, how come they haven't found out about the feeders?" I gave them my 'confuzzled' look as we went into an elevator. Luckily, there were no security cameras in this elevator, allowing us to speak more comfortably.

"Compulsion," Lissa answered for me. My confusion left me. Compulsion was like mind control. Moroi and Strigoi could 'force their will' on others using compulsion. The Moroi working in this hotel had been using compulsion to make sure humans didn't find out how they had been using the hotel as a kind of 'safe haven'.

"But…. Isn't compulsion looked down upon when used by Moroi?" I frowned at them.

"Doesn't stop Moroi from using it, because sometimes, we have to…. Like in this situation, this hotel is needed for Moroi who don't have a place to stay when they visit. But still, keep it on the low-down when you know a Moroi using compulsion…" Adrian said with a sort of smug look. I figured he was a Moroi that used compulsion. Then I also remembered how Rose had told me that compulsion was stronger in Spirit users, almost as strong as a Strigoi's.

"Ahh…" I smiled.

The elevator 'DINGED' when it reached our level. We walked until we came across two rooms next to each other, in a more secluded section of the level, after turning the corridor.

"So I'm guessing Rose and Lissa share one room and Adrian's by himself?" I asked.

"It's a shame isn't it?" Adrian said.

"Adrian already invades my dreams – I don't want to know what else he'd like to do to me at night if we shared a room." Rose said, making Adrian smirk.

"Lots of things, Rose, lots of things." Adrian said in a husky voice. Lissa cleared her throat.

Yup, there was definitely something going on between Adrian and Rose. Adrian obviously had some sort of feeling for her, but Rose seemed to always try to ignore it. I figured it was because Rose hadn't and couldn't move on from Dimitri – the man that used to be her mentor, turned lover then turned Strigoi. I felt sorry for Adrian. Unrequited love always made me feel upset. Now I knew why Rose hadn't told me about Adrian earlier.

Rose took her key card out and opened the door to her room. After we all entered, Rose closed the door, locking all the locks and using the small chain that didn't let people open the door fully if someone were to try and break in.

"Why all the security?" I asked.

"Usually Moroi hotels are heavily armed with guardians protecting the premises, like in hotels in Las Vegas… but since this hotel is in a pretty secluded area, they don't have any guardians, besides me of course. I reckon it must be because of the Guardian shortage." Rose explained. Guardian shortage? I remembered then how Rose has said something about the reproduction of dhampirs being very complicated, which meant that less guardians were being trained to protect Moroi.

"You never know when Strigoi could come about… Especially at night." Lissa added.

"Especially since you're the last Ancient, Denise, the Strigoi are most definitely looking for you or at least planning something concerning you." Adrian's words made me shiver, because he was probably right.

I tried to take my mind off the thought of Strigoi planning things about me. I looked at my surroundings. The room wasn't too small but wasn't that big either. It was big enough however, to have two single beds separated by a small bedside table, a medium sized table next to a wall with a few chairs, a small TV on top of a cabinet and a bathroom beside another wall. There was a mirror hanging on one of the walls above the medium sized table and a small wardrobe on one of the walls next to the door. There was also a little random chair in one of the corners of the room that I decided to sit on.

Adrian made himself comfy, sitting on the end of one of the beds. He winked at Rose and patted the spot next to him. Rose rolled her eyes and instead, went to lean on one of the walls next to one of the beds. Lissa sat down on the other bed, near Rose, legs crossed, looking very Royal…

"Oh my Spock! Lissa… you're Royal aren't you? Like, an actual Princess?" I was sure that my expression had me looking like some sort of bug-eyed monkey high on bananas. Lissa smiled.

"Yup," She had to stop herself from giggling at my eyes widening even more, if that was possible, "Adrian's royal too. He's an Ivashkov, the Ivashkovs being one of the twelve Royal Moroi families like the Dragomirs."

I was sure that I looked like a bug-eyed monkey high on bananas _and _coffee by now. Not that I thought monkeys actually drank coffee…

I _did _before _thinking. _I sprang up from my little chair and got onto my knees, bowing over to Lissa and Adrian.

"See? I told you it wouldn't be long 'til she basked in my presence." Adrian said, having a triumphant tone to his voice. Lissa looked amused but stunned, like she was about to spring up from her position as well to pull me up. Rose got to me first though.

"Denise, get up." Rose laughed a bit and pulled me up by my arm, swiftly, yet gently, "We can't let Adrian be _right_ for a change."

"And like I said before, you don't give me enough credit, little dhampir." He 'humphed' and acted like a little kid that was annoyed with his parents, crossing his arms and turning his head.

"Ok Miss Attitude," Rose looked at him but then back to me, "So… would you like to start explaining?"

It took me a moment to realise she was talking to me. It took me another moment to realise also that she was referring to what I needed to tell them.

"Well… it's quite complicated and I'm not sure where to start." I played with the ends of my hair out of nervousness.

"It's alright Denise," Rose said, reassuring me with that dazzling smile of hers, "Shoot."

* * *

**I'll hopefully update this soon... when school gives me more breaks. xD**

**I hope you enjoyed it and please leave me a review!**

**I'll try and update 'Twisted' by the end of this week, so look out for that!**

**Do y'all remember it? It's the story with too many cliff hangers and disasters that make me look like an evil person. Yeah, _that one._ ;)**  
**And if you're a VA fan that hasn't read 'Twisted' yet, I recommend you read that while you wait for me to update 'Vampire Academy Meets, Me?'**

**So um... I guess that's it.  
Hope to update by the end of this week. :)  
**

**HAPPY READING! xx  
**


End file.
